
JESUS CHRIST; 

CONTAINING A 

FULL, ACCURATE AND UNIVERSAL HISTORY, 

FROM HIS TAKING UPON HIMSELF OUR NATURE, 
TO HIS 

CRUCIFIXION, RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION: 

TOGETHER WITH THE 
LIVES, TRANSACTIONS AND SUFFERINGS 

OF HIS HOLY EVANGELISTS, APOSTLES, 

AND OTHER PRIMITIVE MARTYRS. 

AND A 

HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 

BROUGHT DOWN TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

BY R EV. JOHN FLEETWOOD , D. D. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED A CONTINUATION OF 

THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 

From the destruction of Jerusalem to the present time — exhibiting a view of the various 
Prophesies relating to this remarkable people, and the striking fulfillment of 
them, particularly of those relating to their present condition. 

BY REV. JAMES GALLAHER, 

PASTOR OF THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CINCINNATI. 

ALSO AN 

INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

BY REV. THOMAS BRAINERD, 
EDITOR OF THE CINCINNATI JOURNAL. 



CINCINNATI: 
PUBLISHED BY TRUMAN AND SMITH. 
1834. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1834, 
BY TRUMAN & SMITH, 
in the Clerk's Office for the District Court of Ohio, 



PREFACE. 



The Apollo Belvidere is said to exhibit one of the finest speci- 
mens of the perfection of the art of sculpture in existence. The 
stone so breathes, and speaks as almost to cheat a beholder into 
the belief of its living reality. One of the most distinguished 
writers on the fine arts, after studying it with increasing admira- 
tion, thus recommended it to the attention of those who would 
become artists: "Go and study it, and if you see no peculiar 
beauty in it to captivate you, go again; and if you still discern 
nothing, go again, and again, and again, until you feel it, for be 
assured it is there." 

To every one who takes up this volume, and who is anxious 
to see if there is any beauty, or excellence in the character 
and life herein delineated, we would say: "If you discover it not 
at the first glance, look again; and if still you^ discover it not, 
examine once more, and renew your investigations again, and 
again, for be assured it is there." 

In the life before you will be seen what can no where 
else be found — unlimited power without pride; unrivalled 
beauty without vanity; unbounded benevolence without osten- 
tation; love without selfishness; fortitude without repining; pu- 
rity without a stain, and a sun without a spot! 

You open this volume, not to gaze on a picture of fallen 
greatness; not to view the trophies gained — the triumphs se- 
cured, or the desolations accomplished by the might of a hu- 
man arm; not to behold the mind of an archangel, either in 
its lofty aspirings, or in its ruins; but to admire intellect and 
power, wisdom and goodness combined, in the production of 
results the most happy and glorious; to admire simplicity in 
its grandeur, and grandeur in its simplicity; to cherish a taste 
for mental and moral beauty, and a love for whatsoever 
things are lovely. History is the philosophy of life. It de- 



4 PREFACE. 

velopes the grand principles on which man acts. It shews 
man as a sinner ruined, or a sinner redeemed. 

The Life of Jesus Christ is the philosophy of true religion. 
It exhibits the principles of Christianity in their life and vigor. 
It is perfect excellence personified in miniature — in miniature, 
that the little mind of man may grasp it, and be changed 
into the same image from glory to glory. It is unlike all 
others — so sublime as to excite the admiration of an angel's 
mind, and so simple as to be intelligible to the feeblest intel- 
lect. While it is a perfect example .to be imitated by all, 
it also affords to the sanctified scholar, a lesson of untiring 
and unending interest. Does he admire magnanimity? — No 
where does he find such a specimen, as in the forgiving spirit 
of Jesus* Does he admire sublimity of thought, and gran- 
deur of conception? — He sees it in the description of Jesus 
coming to judgment — a God in glory, and a world on fire! 
Is he touched and thrilled by the magic of eloquence? — 
While he listens to Jesus he is constrained to acknowledge, 
never man spake like this man. Is he enamored with the beau- 
ties of style? — Nowhere can he find a richer feast than in 
the clearness, unity, strength and harmony which character- 
ize the sermon on the mount. 

Has he an eye to relish the beauties of painting? — Jesus 
as a moral painter spreads before him meadows of green- 
ness, and fields of lilies. Has he a taste for scenes of ten- 
derness; for descriptions which stir the Jieart, and open the 
fountains of feeling? — He has only to behold Jesus weeping 
over Jerusalem, and listen to his lamentation! He has only 
to read the story of the prodigal son. If he admires cour- 
age — let him go with Jesus among those who had converted 
the temple into a den of thieves;—; fortitude — let him follow 
the Man of Sorrows into the garden, or stand by him on the 
cross . — condescension — let him dine with him at the table of 
the publican, and witness his marked attention to little chil- 
dren; or humility — let him stand by and behold him wash his 
disciples' feet. 

Is he, in a word, charmed with the exhibition of a character, 
distinguished by purity of motive, by piety the most ardent, by 



PREFACE. 5 

principles the most heavenly, and an example the most praise- 
worthy? He finds all these excellencies resplendent in the life 
of him who went about doing good; — feeding the hungry — in- 
structing the ignorant- — healing the sick — casting out demons — ■ 
causing the dumb to sing, the deaf to hear, the lame to leap, the 
blind to see, the dead to live; — pardoning the penitent, and 
turning the mourner's sorrow unto joy. To the scholar then, as 
well as to him "who knows no more, but knows his Bible true," 
the Life of Christ is replete with interest and instruction. But 
why re-write the Life of Christ? Has it not already been penned 
by inspired hands? The inspired writers have given it in de- 
tached descriptions; and the object designed, and so happily 
accomplished by Dr. Fleetwood was to bring these pieces into 
one harmonious whole. 

The golden links were formed, and to complete the chain, it 
was necessary to put them together. Beams of the cedars of 
Lebanon — stones from the quarries of Judea — the gold of Ophir 
and the silver of Tarshish were all in perfect finish on the 
ground, but the completion of the temple required their being 
fitly joined. The work has been well done. And if the atten- 
tive reader will find any occasion for regret in the perusal of 
this book, it will be when the last page meets his eye. Here he 
will find a harmony of the Gospels — embracing in a connected 
view what each of the Evangelists has testified concerning his 
Divine Master. The amount of collateral information inciden- 
tally introduced, as also occasional scraps of lucid exposition, 
greatly enhance the value of the work.- The style is simple, and 
perspicuous; while the spirit of the writer, like that of his Master, 
is devout, and heavenly. The cuts break the seeming monotony 
of the pages, and while they illustrate, they also tend to impress 
important truths. 

The Introductory Dissertation is not prefixed as a mere orna- 
mental porch to the edifice, but as a part of the building itself. 
And it is recommended to those who would behold the inner 
beauties of the temple, to pass through the porch. Jesus Christ 
is the foundation — the chief corner stone. Here will be seen 
the superstructure — living, polished stones — rising in the beauty 
and sublimity of truth. The evidences here adduced may not 



6 PREFACE. 

convince the Infidel; but they will be confirmation strong to the 
Christian. 

The annexed continued history of that ill-fated people who 
said — His blood be on us and on our children, will be read with 
deep interest. For who can behold without emotion a bush ever 
burning, and yet unconsumed! 

On the whole, it is believed that the pious reader will come to 
the perusal of the Life of Christ, as he would have welcomed 
an invitation to the marriage feast at Cana of Galilee. And as 
he drinks into its spirit, and is refreshed, will be constrained to 
acknowledge that the best wine has been kept even until row. 
Whatever is pure in purpose, praiseworthy in conduct, or excel- 
lent in character will here be found shining like so many burn- 
ished orbs, attending the sun on his brilliant career. To the 
saint, whether on earth or in heaven, Christ is the chief among 
ten thousands, and the one altogether lovely. Here his principal hap- 
piness consists in seeing Him, through a glass darkly — there in 
beholding him face to face. 

But the perfection of bliss is in bearing his image, and sharing 
his glory. Who then but will pray with the poet — 

"Be thou my pattern make me bear, 
More of thy gracious image here." 

And in anticipation of his exit, with him sing — 
" O glorious hour! O, blest abode. 
- I shall be near and like my God." 

Let then his Life be read, studied, felt — his example followed — 
his commands obeyed — his spirit breathed — his image borne — 
his glory sought, and his praise sung here; and the notes of 
earth will only be lost in immortal strains of glory to God and 
the Lamb in heaven ! 



AN 



INTRODUCTORY 



DISSEETATION, 

IN WHICH 

THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY ARE FAIRLY STATED, 
THE NEW TESTAMENT PROVED TO BE GENUINE, AND THE 
RELIGION OF JESUS TRULY DIVINE. 



It is a well-attested truth, that immorality ever grows with 
infidelity, and to the prevalence of vice must certainly be impu- 
ted that scorn and derision in which too many in the present day 
hold the sacred oracles of God, the revealed will of the Great 
Creator of Heaven and Earth. 

From hence, therefore, it is reasonable to ask, what cause 
can produce so strange a deviation from the ways of God? 
Doubtless from that unhappy disregard, either to the Gospel in 
general, or to his peculiar and essential truths so visible in the 
world, and which appear to be continually increasing. It is 
too evident that multitudes among us, like those of old, who 
thought and professed themselves the wisest of mankind, or, in 
other words, the free-thinkers of the age, have been desirous of 
banishing God and his truths from their knowledge; and it is 
therefore the less to be wondered at, if " God has given them 
up to a reprobate mind; to the most infamous lusts and enor- 
mities; and to a depth of degeneracy, which, while it is in part 
the natural consequence, is in part also the just, but dreadful 
punishment of their apostacy from the faith. And we are per- 
suaded that those who wish well to the cause of Christ, as 
every true Christian most certainly does, cannot serve it more 
effectually, than by endeavoring to establish men in their belief 
of the Gospel in general, and to build them up in the most holy 
faith. The latter, we flatter ourselves, we have sufficiently 
done in the following lives of the blessed Jesus, and his Apos- 
tles and followers; and propose in this Dissertation, to prove 
that the Christian Religion is true, and owes its origin to God 
himself. 

7 



8 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



It will be needless to observe, that this is a matter of the high- 
est importance, as every one will apprehend that this is the foun- 
dation of all oar hopes. It is absolutely necessary in this age 
of libertinism, that every Christian should be able "to give a 
reason for the hope that is in him," and to put to silence the 
tongues of those men that have " evil will at Zion." And may 
the Almighty enable us to plead his cause with success! May 
the divine Spirit accompany these arguments, that the faith of 
our readers being more and more established, it may appear that 
the tree is watered at the roots, by all the other graces growing 
and flourishing in an equal proportion! 

God has made ample provision for the honor and support of 
his Gospel, by furnishing it with a variety of proofs, which 
may, with undiminished, and indeed, with growing conviction, 
be displayed in the eyes of the whole world: and we should be 
greatly wanting in gratitude to him, in zeal for a Redeemer's 
kingdom, and in charitable concern for the conversion of those 
who reject the Gospel, as well as for the edification of those who 
embrace it, should we wholly overlook those arguments, or ne- 
glect to acquaint ourselves with them, This is the evidence we 
propose, and beg our readers would peruse it with becoming 
attention. 

In prosecution of this great design, we shall endear or more 
particularly to show, that if we take the matter on a general 
survey, it will appear highly probable, that such a system of 
doctrines and precepts, as we find Christianity to be, should 
indeed have been a "divine Revelation;" and then, that if 
we examine into the external evidence of it, we shall find it 
certain in fact that it was so, and that it had its origin from 
on high. 

First, then, we are to show, that taking the matter merely in 
theory, it will appear highly probable, that such a system as the 
Gospel, should be indeed a divine revelation. 

To prove this, we shall endeavor to shew, That the state 
of mankind was such as greatly to need a revelation; That 
there seems, from the light of nature, encouragement to hope 
that God would grant one; That it is reasonable to believe, 
that if any were made, it should be introduced and transmitted 
as Christianity was ; and, That its general nature and substance 
should be such as we find that of the Gospel is. If we satisfac- 
torily prove these particulars, there will be a strong presumptive 
evidence that the " Gospel is from God," and a fair way will 
be opened for that more divine proof which is principally in- 
tended. 

1. The case of mankind is naturally such as to need a divine 

revelation. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



9 



We would not be understood to speak here of a man in his 
original state though even then, some instruction from above 



seemed necessary to inform him of many particulars, which it 
was highli for him then to know; but we speak of him 

in tfct€ • ondition in which he now so evidently lies, 

by whale . he fell into it. It is very easy to make florid 

encomiums on th< perfection of natural light, and to deceive 
unwary reader: by an ambiguous term, as a late author has done 
in his deistica] writings; a fallacy beneath an ingenious reason- 
er, and-v hn n aione ought to have exposed his book to the con- 
tempt of ever) serious reader. Truth needs no disguise; a 



candid advocate scorns such subterfuges; let facts speak for 
themselves, and controversy will soon be decided. We appeal 
to every. intelligent reader, who is acquainted with the records of 
antiquity, or that Las any knowledge of the present state of those 
countries where Christianity is unknown, whether it is not too 
obvious a truth, that the whole heathen world has lain, and still 
lies in a state of wickedness. Have not the greater part of them 
been perpetually bewildered in their religious notions and prac- 
tices*, very different from each other, and almost equally differ- 
ing on all sides from the appearances of truth and reason? Is 
any thing so wild as not to have been believed; any thing so in- 
famous as not to have been practised by them, while they not 
only pretended to justify it by reason, but to have consecrated it 
as a part of their religion? To this very day, what are the dis- 
coveries of new nations in the American or African world ; but, 
generally speaking, the opening of new scenes of enormity? Ra- 
pine, lust, cruelty, human sacrifices, and the most stupid idola- 
tries, are, and always have been, the morality and religion of 
almost all the Pagan nations under heaven; and if they have 
discovered a dawn of reason, it has only sufficed to convince 
them of the want of an abler guide, to direct them in pursuit of 
real happiness. 

But perhaps some of our readers have only heard those 
things by uncertain reports. If this be the case, look around 
you within the sphere of your own observation, and remark the 
temper and character of the generality of those who have 
been educated in a Christian, and even in a Protestant country. 
Observe their ignorance and forgetfulness of the Divine Being, 
their impieties, their debaucheries, their fraud, their oppression, 
their pride, their avarice, their ambition, their unnatural in- 
sensibility of the wants, sorrows, and interest of each other; 
and when you see how bad they generally are in the midst of 
so many advantages, judge by that of the probable state of 
those that want them. When the candid reader has well weigh- 
ed these particulars, let him judge whether a revelation be an 
unnecessary thing, 

2 



10 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



2. There is, from the light of nature, considerable encourage- 
ment to hope, that God would favor his creatures with so desira- 
ble a thing as a revelation appears to be. 

That a revelation is in itself a possible thing is evident be- 
yond all shadow of doubt. Shall not He that " made man's 
mouth," who has given us this wonderful faculty of discovering 
our sentiments, and communicating our ideas to each other: 
shall not He be able to converse with his rational creatures, and, 
by sensible manifestations, or inward impressions, to convey 
the knowledge of things which lie beyond the discernment of their 
natural faculties, and yet may be highly conducive to their ad- 
vantage? To own a God, and to deny him such a power would 
be a notorious contradiction. But it may appear much more du- 
bious, whether he will please to confer such a favor on sinful 
creatures. 

Now it must be acknowledged, that he would not certainly 
conclude he would never do it; considering, on the one hand, 
how justly they stood exposed to his final displeasure : and, on 
the other, what provision he had made by the frame of the hu- 
man mind, and of nature around us, for giving us such noti- 
ces of himself, as would leave us inexcusable, if we either failed 
to know him, or to glorify him as God, as the apostle argues 
at large. (Rom. i. 20, &c.) Nevertheless, we should have 
something of this kind to hope, from considering God as the 
indulgent father of his creatures; from observing the tender care 
he takes of us, and the liberal supply which he grants for the 
support of the animal life; especially from the provision he has 
made for man, considered as a guilty and calamitous creature, 
by the medicinal and healing virtues he has given to the produc- 
tions of nature, which man in a perfect state of rectitude and 
happiness, never would have needed. 

This is a circumstance which seems strongly to intimate, that 
he would, some time or other, graciously provide an adequate 
remedy to heal the minds of the children of men ; and that he 
would interpose to instruct them in his own nature, in the man- 
ner in which he is to be served, and in the final treatment which 
they may expect from him. And certainly such an apprehension 
seems very congruous to the sentiments of the generality of man- 
kind, a sufficient proof that men naturally expect some such kind 
of interposition of the Almighty. 

3. It is natural to conclude, that if a revelation were given, it 
would be introduced, and transmitted in such a manner as the 
Evangelists shew us Christianity was. 

It is, for instance, highly probable that it should be taught , 
either by some illustrious person, sent down from a superior 
world, or at least by a man of eminent wisdom and piety, who 
should himself have been not only a teacher, but an example 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



II 



of righteousness. In order to this, it seems probable, that he 
should be led through a series of calamities and distress; since, 
otherwise, he could not have been a pattern of that resignation, 
which adorns adversity, and is peculiar to it. And it might 
also have been expected that, in the extremity of his distress, 
the Almighty, whose messenger he was, should, in some ex- 
traordinary manner, have interposed either to preserve or to 
recover him from death. 

It is, moreover, exceedingly probable, that such a person, 
and perhaps also those who were at first employed as his mes- 
sengers to the world, should be endowed with a power of work- 
ing miracles, both to awaken men's attention, and to prove his 
divine mission, and the consequent truth of his doctrines, some 
of which might perhaps be capable of no other proof; or if 
they were, it is certain that no method of arguing is so short, 
so plain, and so forcible, and on the whole so well suited to 
conviction, and probably, to the reformation of mankind, as a 
course of evident, repeated, and uncontrolled miracles. And 
such a method of proof is especially adapted to the populace, 
who are incomparably the greater part of mankind, and for 
whose benefit we may assure ourselves a revelation would be 
chiefly designed. It might be added, that it was no way im- 
probable, though not in itself certain, that a dispensation should 
open gradually to the world; and that the most illustrious mes- 
senger of God to men should be ushered in by some predictions 
which should raise a great expectation of his appearance, and 
have an evident accomplishment in him. 

As to the propagation of a religion so introduced, it seems 
no way improbable, that having been thus established in its 
first age, it should be transmitted to future generations by cred- 
ible testimony, as other important facts are. It is certain, that 
affairs of the utmost moment, transacted among men, depend on 
testimony; on this, voyages are undertaken, settlements made, 
and controversies decided; controversies on which not only the 
estates but the lives of men depend. Though it must be owned, 
that such an historical evidence is not equally convincing with 
miracles which are wrought before our own eyes; yet it is certain 
it may rise to such a degree as to exclude all reasonable doubt. 
We know not why we should expect, that the evidence of a rev- 
elation should be such as universally to compel the immediate 
acquiescence of all to whom it is offered. It appears much 
more probable, that it should be so adjusted as to be a kind of 
touchstone to the tempers and characters of men, capable, 
indeed, of giving ample satisfaction to the diligent and candid 
inquirer, yet attended with some circumstances, from whence 
the captious and perverse might take occasion to cavil and 
object. Such we might reasonably suppose a revelation would 



m 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



be, and such we maintain Christianity is. The teachers of it 
undertake to prove that it was thus introduced, thus established, 
and thus transmitted; and we trust that this is a strong pre- 
sumption in its favor, especially as we can add, 

4. That the principal doctrines contained in the Gospel are 
of such a nature, that we might in general suppose a divine 
revelation would he — rational, practical, and sublime. 

It is natural to imagine, that in a revelation of a religion 
from God, the great principles of natural religion should be 
clearly asserted, and strongly maintained: such as the existence, 
the unity, the perfection, and the providence of God; the essen- 
tial and immutable difference between moral good and evil; 
the obligations we are under to the various branches of virtue, 
whether human, social, or divine; the value and immortality of 
the soul; and the rewards and punishments of a future state. 
All these particulars every rational person would conclude were 
contained in it; and that upon the whole it should appear cal- 
culated to form men's minds to a proper temper, rather than to 
amuse them with curious speculations. 

It might, indeed, be farther supposed, that such a revelation 
would contain some things which could not have been learned 
from the highest improvements of natural light: such as, that 
God would pardon the sins of the most flagrant offender, on 
account of the satisfaction made by his dear Son, the Redeemer 
of the world ; that he would work holy desires in the hearts of 
his people, by the power of his divine grace, and form them for 
happiness hereafter by implanting in them a principle of ho- 
liness. 

In short, the Christian system is undoubtedly worthy of God, 
nor is it possible to imagine from whom else it could have pro- 
ceeded.* 

Thus have we considered the first branch of the argument, 
and shewn, we hope satisfactorily, that, taking the Christian 
system only in theory, it appears highly probable. The truth 
is, that to embrace the Gospel is so safe, and upon the whole 
so comfortable a thing, that a wise man would deliberately ven- 
ture his all upon it, though nothing more could be offered for 
its confirmation. But, blessed be God, we have a great deal 
more to offer in this important cause; and can add, with still 
greater confidence, that it is not only probable in theory but, 

Secondly, That it is in fact certain, that Christianity is, in- 
deed, a divine revelation. 

* From what has been said, it sufficiently appears, that a revelation was absolutely 
necessary to instruct mankind in the most important principles of religion ; and conse- 
quently all the fallacious arguments of deistical writers, against the necessity of an extra- 
ordinary revelation, fall to the ground like a mighty structure when the foundation is 
destroyed. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



13 



On this it must be confessed the chief stress is to be laid; 
and therefore we shall insist more largely on this branch of the 
argument, and endeavor, by the divine assistance, to prove the 
certainty of this great, this important fact. And in order to 
this, it will be necessary to shew, 

I. That the books in the New Testament, now extant, may 
be depended upon as written by the first preachers and pub- 
lishers of Christanifcy. And, 

II. That from hence it will certainly follow that what they 
assert is true, and that the religion they teach brings with it 
such evidences of a divine authority, as may justly recommend 
it to our acceptance. 

Each of these heads would furnish matter for several vol- 
umes; but as we are writing only a Dissertation, it is our 
business to strike at the most obvious and important particulars, 
by which they may be briefly illustrated and confirmed. 

We are to prove, that the books of the New Testament, now 
extant, were written by the first preachers and publishers of 
Christianity. 

We shall now confine ourselves to the books of the New 
Testament, as that particular part of the sacred oracles has 
engrossed our present attention, though we propose, in another 
place, to lay down some solid arguments in defence of the au- 
thenticity of the Old, which is an invaluable treasure, being the 
very foundation of the New, and demands our daily pleasing 
and grateful perusal, and is capable of being defended in a man- 
ner we are persuaded its most subtle enemies will never be able 
to answer. 

After premising these particulars ; we shall go on to the argu- 
ment, and advance it by the following degrees: We shall prove 
that Christianity is an ancient religion ; — That there was such 
a person as Jesus of Nazareth crucified above seventeen hun- 
dred years ago at Jerusalem; — That the first preachers of his 
religion wrote books, which went by the name of those that 
now make up the volume of the New Testament; — And that 
the English translation of them, now publicly used, is in the 
main faithful, and may be depended upon. 

1. It is certain that Christianity is not a new religion, but 
one that was maintained by great multitudes soon after the time 
in which the Gospels tell us Jesus appeared. 

That there was, considerably more than seventeen hundred 
years ago, a body of men that went by the name of Christians, 
is fully as evident as that a race of men was then subsisting in 
the world; nor do we know that any enemy to the religion of 
Jesus has ever been vile and confident enough to dispute it. 
Indeed, there are such numbers, both of Christian and Heathen 
writers, who attest this fact, that it would be madness to deny 



14 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



it, and therefore superfluous for us to prove it. But we cannot 
help observing, that Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny, Marcus Antoni- 
nus, and others, not only attest the existence of such a body of 
men, but also inform us of the extreme persecutions they under- 
went in the very infancy of their religion; a strong evidence 
that they were firmly persuaded that their religion was from 
on high. 

2. That there was such a person as Jesus of Nazareth, who 
was crucified at Jerusalem, when Pontius Pilate was the Roman 
governor there. 

It can never be imagined, that multitudes of people should 
take their names from Christ, and sacrifice their lives for their 
adherence to him, even in the same age in which he lived, if 
they had not been well assured that there was such a person. 
Nay, Tacitus himself tells us that he was put to death under 
Pontius Pilate, who was procurator of Judea in the reign of 
Tiberius. And it is well known that the primitive Christian 
apologists often appeal to the acts of Pilate, or the memoirs of 
his government, which he, according to the custom of all other 
procurators, transmitted to Rome, as containing an account of 
these transactions; and as the appeal was made to those who 
had the command of the public records, we may assure our- 
selves such testimonies were then extant. But it is a fact which 
our enemies never denied. They owned it; they even gloried 
in it, and upbraided the Christians with the infamous death of 
him whom they called their Saviour. Thus it sufficiently ap- 
pears that there was, at the time, commonly supposed, such a 
person as our blessed Saviour Christ, who was a divine teacher, 
and who gathered many disciples, by whom his religion was 
afterwards published in the world. 

3. It is also certain, that the first publishers of this religion 
wrote books, which contained an account of the life and doc- 
trines of Jesus their Master, and which went by the names of 
those that now make up our New Testament. 

It was in the nature of things highly probable, that they 
would declare and publish to the world, in writing, the things 
they had seen and heard, considering how common books were 
in the age and countries in which they taught; and of how 
great importance an acquaintance with the history and doctrine 
of Christ was to the purposes which they so strenuously pur- 
sued: but we have much more than such a presumptive 
evidence. 

The most inveterate adversaries to Christianity must grant 
that we have books of great antiquity, written some fourteen, 
some fifteen, and some more than sixteen hundred years ago; 
in which mention is made of the life of Christ, as written by 
many, and especially by four of his disciples, who, by way 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



15 



of eminence, are styled Evangelists. Great pains have indeed 
been taken to endeavor to prove that some spurious pieces 
were published under the names of the apostles, containing the 
history of these things. But all these have been confuted, and 
the vile assertors stigmatized with that contempt their false 
asseverations justly deserved. And we are sure he must be 
very little acquainted with the ancient ecclesiastical writers 
who does not know that the primitive Christians made a great 
difference between those writings, which we call the canonical 
books of the New Testament, and others ; which plainly shews 
that they did not judge of writings merely by the names of 
their pretended authors, but inquired with an accuracy becom- 
ing the importance of these pretences. The result of this inqui- 
ry was, that the four Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles of St. Paul, 
one of St. Peter, and one of St. John, were received upon such 
evidence, that Eusebius, a most accurate and early critic in 
these things, could not learn that they had ever been disputed. 
And afterwards the remaining books of the New Testament, 
namely, Hebrews, — James, — the second of Peter, — the second 
and third of John, — Jude, — and the Revelations, were admitted 
as genuine, and added to the rest. On the whole it is suffi- 
ciently plain, that the primitive Christians were so thoroughly 
satisfied of the authority of the sacred books, that they speak of 
them, not only as credible and authentic, but as equal to the 
oracles of the Old Testament, as divinely inspired, as the words 
of the Spirit, as the law and organ of God, and as the rule 
of faith, which cannot be contradicted without the greatest 
guilt; with many other expressions of the same kind, which 
often occur in their discourses. To which we may add, that 
in some of their councils the New Testament was placed on a 
throne, to signify their desire that all their controversies might 
be determined, and their actions regulated by it. 

From the whole, therefore it is plain, that the primitive 
church did receive certain pieces which bore the same titles 
with the books of our New Testament. Now we think it is 
evident, that they were as capable of judging whether a book 
was written by Matthew, John, or Paul, as the ancient Romans 
could be of determining whether Horace, Tully, or Livy, 
wrote those which go under their names. And certainly the 
interest of the former was much more concerned in the writings 
of the apostles, than that of the latter in the compositions of 
their poets, orators, or even their historians; and there is 
reason to believe they would take much greater care to inform 
themselves fully in the merits of the cause, and to avoid being 
imposed upon by artifice and fiction. Let us now proceed to 
shew, 



16 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



4. That the hooks of the New Testament have been pre- 
served in the main uncorrupted to the present time, in the 
original language in which they were written. 

This is a matter of the last importance; and, blessed be 
God, we have a proportional evidence: an evidence in which 
the hand of Providence has indeed been remarkably seen; for 
it is certain there is no ancient book in the world, which 
may so certainly and so easily be proved to be authentic. 

And here we will not argue merely from the piety of the 
primitive Christians, and the heroic actions and resolutions 
with which they chose to endure the greatest extremities, rather 
than deliver up their Bibles, though that consideration is evi- 
dently of the greatest weight; but shall entreat our readers to 
consider the utter improbability of altering them. From the 
first ages they were received and read in churches, as a part of 
their public worship, just as Moses and the prophets were in 
the Jewish synagogues: they were presently spread far and 
near, as the boundaries of the church were increased; they 
were early translated into other languages, of which translations 
some remain to this very day. Now, when this was the case 
how could they be adulterated? Is it a thing to be supposed 
and imagined, that thousands and millions of people should 
have come together from distant countries; and that with all 
the diversities of language and customs, and, it may be added, 
of sentiments, too, they should have agreed on corrupting a 
book, which they all acknowledged to be the rule of their faith 
and their manners, and the great charter by which they held 
their eternal hopes ? It would be madness to believe it, espe- 
cially when we consider what numbers of heretics appeared in 
the very infancy of the church, who all pretended to build their 
notions on Scripture, and most of them appealed to it as the 
final judge of controversies. Now it is certain, that these dif- 
ferent sects of Christians were a perpetual guard upon each 
other, and rendered it impossible for one party to practice thus 
grossly on the sacred books, without the discovery and clamor 
of the rest. 

Nor must we omit to observe, that in every age, from the 
apostles' time to our own, there have been numberless quota- 
tions made from the books of the New Testament; and a mul- 
titude of commentaries in various languages, and some of very 
ancient date, have been written upon them; so that if the books 
themselves were lost, they might, in a great measure, if not en- 
tirely, be recovered from the writings of others. And we may 
venture to say, that if all the quotations ever made from all the 
ancient writings now in Europe were gathered together, the 
bulk of them would by no means be comparable to that of the 
quotations taken from the New Testament alone. So that any 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



17 



man might with much better reason dispute whether the writings 
ascribed to Homer, Demosthenes, Virgil, or Caesar, be in the 
main such as they left them, than he could question it concern- 
ing those of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, and 
Paul. 

It may be said in the main, because we readily allow, that the 
hand of a printer, or of a transcriber, might chance, in some 
places, to insert one letter or word for another; and the various 
readings of this, as well as all other ancient books, prove that 
this has sometimes been the case. But those various readings 
are generally of such little importance, that he who can urge 
them as an objection against the assertion we are now maintain- 
ing, must have little judgment, or little integrity; and, indeed, 
after those excellent things which have been said on the subject 
by many defenders of Christianity, he must, if he has read their 
writings, have little modesty too. 

Since then it appears that the books in the New Testament, 
as they now stand in the original, are, without any material al- 
teration, such as they were when they came from the hands of 
the sacred authors, nothing remains to complete this part of the 
argument, but to shew, 

5. That the translation of them now in common use may be 
depended upon, as, in all particulars, agreeable to the original. 

This is a fact of which the generality of -readers are not able 
to judge immediately, though it is of the last importance ; it is, 
therefore, with great pleasure we reflect, how ample evidence 
they may have another way, to make their minds easy on this 
head. We mean by the concurrent testimony of others, in cir- 
cumstances in which it cannot be imagined they would unite to 
deceive them. 

There are few who preach the Gospel of the Son of God, but 
have examined this matter with the greatest care, and are able 
to judge in so easy a case; and who will all unanimously de- 
clare, that the common English translation is in the main faith- 
ful and judicious. We do not, indeed, scruple, on some occa- 
sions, to animadvert upon it; but these remarks never affect the 
fundamentals of religion, and seldom reach any further than the 
beauty of a figure, or the connexion of an argument. 

But the argument does not wholly rest on the unanimous suf- 
frages of the teachers of the Gospel. The different sects of 
protestants in this kingdom bear witness to this truth. For it is 
certain, that where a body of men dissent from the public estab- 
lishment, and yet agree with the church from which they dis 
sent, in using the same translation, though they are capable of 
examining and judging of it, it is as great evidence as can be 
desired, that such a translation is right in the main. But the 
i dissenters unanimously unite with us in bearing testimony to 



18 AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 

the oracle of God, as delivered in our own language: and con- 
sequently our translation may be depended upon. 

Thus have I finished the first part of my argument, and 
6hewn that the Christian religion is certainly true, and that the 
New Testament is genuine. I shall next proceed to shew, 

II. That from allowing the New Testament to be genuine, it 
will undeniably follow, that Christianity is a divine revela- 
tion. 

And here a person is at first ready to be lost in the multi- 
plicity of arguments which surround him. It is very easy to 
find proofs, but difficult to range and dispose them in such an 
order as best to illustrate and confirm each other. We shall 
therefore offer them in the following natural series. 

The authors of the books contained in the New Testament 
were certainly capable of judging concerning the truth of the 
facts they asserted: their characters, so far as we can judge of 
them by their writings, render them worthy of regard; and they 
were under no temptation to attempt imposing on the world by 
such relations as they have given us, if they had been false. 
Nevertheless, it is certain in fact, they did gain credit, and suc- 
ceeded in a most amazing manner, against all opposition. It is 
therefore certain, that the facts which they asserted were true; 
and if they were true, then it was reasonable for their con- 
temporaries, and it is reasonable for us, to receive the Gospel 
as a divine revelation; especially if we consider what has hap- 
pened to the world for the confirmation of it, since first prop- 
agated by them. This is the conclusion to which we must 
attend; and therefore let us seriously consider each of the steps 
by which we arrive at it. 

It is exceedingly evident, that the writers of the New Testa- 
ment certainly knew the facts they asserted were true. 

And this they must have known, for this plain reason : be- 
cause they inform us, they did not trust merely to the report 
even of persons whom they thought most credible, but were pre- 
sent themselves when several of the most important facts hap- 
pened; and so received them on the testimony of their own 
senses. On this St. John, in his first epistle, ch. i. ver. 1 — 3, 
lays a very great and reasonable stress: 44 That which we have 
seen with our eyes;" and that not only by a sudden glance 
but " which we have attentively looked upon, and which even 
our hands have handled, of the word of life:" i. e. of Christ 
and his Gospel, declare we unto you. 

Let the common sense of mankind judge here. Did not 
Matthew and John certainly know whether they had personally, 
and familiarly, conversed with Jesus of Nazareth or not? 
Whether he had chosen them for his constant attendants and 
apostles? Whether they had seen him heal the sick, dispossess 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



10 



devils, and raise the dead? And whether they themselves had 
received from him such miraculous endowments as they declare 
he bestowed upon them? Did they not know whether he fell 
into the hands of his enemies, and was publicly put to death or 
not? Did not John know whether he saw him expiring on the 
cross or not? and whether he received from him a dying 
charge, which he records, ch. xix. ver. 27? Did he not know 
whether he saw him wounded in the side with a spear or not? 
and whether he did, or did not see the effusion of blood and 
water, which was an infallible argument of his being really 
dead? Concerning which, it being so material a circumstance, 
he adds "He that saw it bare record; and he knoweth that he 
saith true;" i. e. that it was a case in which he could not possi- 
bly be deceived. And with regard to Christ's resurrection, 
did he not certainly know whether he saw our Lord again and 
again; and whether he handled his body, that he might be 
sure it was not a mere phantom? What one circumstance of 
his life could he certainly know if he were mistaken in this? 

Did not Luke know whether he was in the ship with Paul 
when that extraordinary wreck happened, by which they were 
thrown ashore on the island of Malta? Did he not know 
whether, while they were lodged together in the governor's 
house, Paul miraculously healed one of the family, and many 
other diseased persons in the island, as he positively asserts that 
he did in Acts xxviii. ? 

Did not Paul certainly know whether Christ appeared to him 
on the way to Damascus or not? whether he was blind; and 
afterwards, on the prayer of a fellow-disciple, received his sight? 
or was that a circumstance in which there could be room for 
mistake? Did he not know whether he received such extraor- 
dinary revelations and extraordinary powers, as to be able, by 
the laying on of his hands, or by the words of his mouth, to 
work miracles? 

To add no more: Did not Peter know whether he saw the 
glory of Christ's transfiguration, and heard that voice to which 
he so expressly refers, when he says, " We have not followed 
cunningly devised fables, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty, 
when there came such a voice to him; and this voice we 
heard?" 2 Peter, i. 16—18. 

Now Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Peter, are 
by far the most considerable writers of the New Testament; and 
surely when we reflect on these particulars, we must own that 
there are few historians, ancient or modern, that could so certain- 
ly judge of the truth of the facts which they have related. The 
reason why we have enlarged in stating so clear a case is, that 
it is the foundation of the whole argument; and that this branch 
of it alone cuts off infidels from that refuge which they could 



20 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION, 



generally choose, that of pleading the apostles were enthusiasts: 
and leaves them silent, unless they will say that they were im- 
postors. For you evidently see, that could we suppose these 
facts to be false, they could by no means pretend an involuntary 
mistake; but must, in the most criminal and aggravated sense, 
as St. Paul himself expresses it, 1 Cor, xv. 15, " Be found 
false witnesses of God." But how unreasonable it would be to 
charge them with so notorious a crime will in part appear if we 
consider, 

That the character of these writers, so far as we can judge 
by their works, seems to render them worthy of regard; and 
leaves no room to imagine that they intended to deceive us. 
• It would be unnecessary to shew at large, that they appear 
to have been persons of natural sense, and at the time of their 
writing, of a composed mind; for certainly, no man that ever 
read the New Testament with attention, could imagine they 
were idiots or madmen. Let the discourses of Christ in the 
Evangelists, of Peter and Paul in the Acts, as well as many 
passages in the Epistles, be perused, and we will venture to say, 
that he who is not even charmed with them, must be a stranger 
to all the justest rules of polite criticism. But he who suspects 
that the writers wanted common sense, must himself be most ev- 
idently destitute of it; and he who can suspect they might pos- 
sibly be distracted, must himself, in this instance at least be 
just as mad as he imagines them to have been. It was neces- 
sary, however, just to touch upon this; because, unless we are 
satisfied that a person be himself in what he writes, we cannot 
pretend to determine his character from his writings. 

Having premised this, let us, on perusing the New Testament, 
observe what evident marks it bears of simplicity and integrity, 
of piety and benevolence ; upon which we shall find them plead- 
ing the cause of its authors, with a nervous, though gentle el- 
oquence; and powerfully persuading the mind, that men who 
were capable of writing so excellently well, must evidently ap- 
pear to have strictly adhered to the rectitude of truth. 

The manner in which they relate this narration is most 
happily adapted to gain our belief. For as they tell it with a 
great deal of circumstances, which by no means could be pru- 
dent in legendary writers, because it leaves so much the more 
room for confutation; so they also do it in the most easy and 
natural manner. There is no air of declamation and harangue: 
nothing that looks like artifice and design; no apologies, no 
encomiums, no character, no reflections, no digressions: but 
the facts are recounted with great simplicity , just as they ap- 
pear to have happened; and those facts are left to speak for 
themselves in their great author. It is plain that the rest of 
these writers, as well as the apostle Paul, did not affect excel- 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



*2i 



lency of speech, or flights of eloquence, as the phrase signifies: 
but determined to know nothing, though amongst the most 
learned and polite, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. A 
conduct which is the more to be admired, when we consider 
how extraordinary a theme theirs was, and with what abun- 
dant variety of most pathetic declamation, it would easily have 
furnished any common writer: so that one would really wonder 
how they could forbear it. But they rightly judged that a vain 
affectation of ornament, when recording such facts of their own 
knowledge, might perhaps have brought their sincerity into 
question ; and so have rendered the cross of Christ of no effect. 

Their integrity likewise evidently appears in the freedom 
with which they mention those circumstances, which might 
have exposed their Master and themselves to the greatest con- 
tempt among prejudiced and inconsiderate men; such as they 
knew they must generally expect to meet with. As to their 
Master, they scruple not to own, that his country was despised, 
his birth and education mean, and his life indigent; that he was 
most disdainfully rejected by the rulers, and accused of sabbath- 
breaking, blasphemy, and sedition: that he was reviled by the 
populace as a debauchee, a lunatic, and a demoniac; and at 
last, by the united rage of both rulers and people, was public- 
ly executed as the vilest of malefactors, with all imaginable cir- 
cumstances of ignominy, scorn, and abhorrence. 

Nor do they scruple to own that terror and distress of spirit 
into which he was thrown by his sufferings, though this was a 
circumstance at which some of the heathens took the greatest 
offence, as utterly unworthy so excellent and divine a person. 
As to themselves, the apostles readily confess not only the mean- 
ness of their original employment, and the scandal of their for- 
mer life, but their prejudices, their follies, and their faults, after 
Christ had honored them with so holy a calling. They ac- 
knowledged their lowness of apprehension under so excellent a 
teacher; their unbelief, their cowardice, their ambition, their 
rash zeal, and their foolish contentions. So that on the whole, 
they seemed every where to forget they were writing of them- 
selves, and appear not at all solicitous about their own reputa- 
tion; but only that they might represent the matter just as it 
was, whether they went through honor or dishonor, through evil 
report or good report. Nor is this all ; for, 

It is certain, that in their writings there are the most genuine 
traces, not only of a plain and honest, but of a most pious and 
devout, a most benevolent and generous disposition. These ap- 
pear especially in the epistolary parts of the New Testament, 
where indeed we should most reasonably expect to find them: and 
of these it may be confidently affirmed, that the greater progress 
any one has made in love to God, in zeal for his glory, in a 



22 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



compassionate and generous concern for the present and future 
happiness of mankind; the more humble, and candid, and tem- 
perate, and pure he is; the more ardently he loves truth, and 
the more steadily he is determined to suffer the greatest extrem- 
ity in its defence; in a word, the more his heart is weaned 
from the present world, and the more it is fired with the pros- 
pects of a glorious immortality, the more pleasure he will take 
in reading those writings-; the more will he relish the spirit 
which discovers itself in them, and find that as face answers 
to face in water, so do the traces of divine grace which appear 
there, answer to those which a good man feels in his own soul. 
Nay, it may be added that the warm and genuine workings 
of that .excellent and holy temper, which every where discov- 
ers itself in the New Testament, have for many ages been the 
most effectual method of animating true believers with a zeal 
for the honor of the Gospel, and a desire of framing their con- 
versation as becomes the Gospel of Christ. 

Where then there are such genuine marks of an excellent 
character, not only in their discourses, but in their epistolary 
writings, and those sometimes addressed to particular and in- 
timate friends, to whom the mind naturally opens itself with the 
greatest freedom, surely no candid and equitable judge would 
lightly believe them to be all counterfeit; or would imagine, 
without very substantial proof, that persons who breathe such 
exalted sentiments of God and religion, should be guilty of any 
kind of wickedness; and in proportion to the degree of enor- 
mity and aggravation attending such a supposed crime, it may 
justly be expected that the evidence of their having really com- 
mitted it should be unanswerably strong and convincing. 

Now it is very certain, on the principles laid down above, 
that if the testimony of the apostles was false, they must have 
acted as detestable and villainous a part as one can easily con- 
ceive. To be found, as the apostle with his usual energy ex- 
presses it, false witnesses of God in any single instance, and 
solemnly declare to have done miraculously what we in our own 
consciences know was never done at all, would be an auda- 
cious degree of impiety, to which none but the most abandoned 
of mankind could arrive. Yet if the testimony of the apostles 
was false, as we have proved they could not be themselves mista- 
ken in it, this must have been their case; and that not in one sin- 
gle instance only, but in a thousand. Their lives must, in ef- 
fect, be one continued and perpetual scene of perjury; and all 
the most solemn actions of it (in which they were speaking to 
God, or speaking of him as God the Father of Christ, from 
whom they received their commission and powers) must be a 
most profane and daring insult on all the acknowledged perfec- 
tions of his nature. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



23 



And the inhumanity of such a conduct would on the whole, 
have been equal to its impiety. For it would have been de- 
ceiving men in their most important interests, and persuading 
them to venture their own future happiness on the power and 
fidelity of one whom, on this supposition, they knew to have 
been an impostor, and justly to have suffered a capital punish- 
ment for his crimes. It cannot be supposed that God, who re- 
gards the interest of his children, would long suffer such an im- 
position to prevail, without preventing it by the interposition of 
his wisdom and power. 

It would have been great guilt to have given the hearts and 
devotions of men so wrong a turn, even though they had found 
magistrates ready to espouse and establish, yea, and to enforce 
the religion they taught. But on the contrary, to labor to 
propagate it in the midst of the most vigorous and severe op- 
position from them, must equally enhance the guilt and folly 
of the undertaking. For by this means they would have made 
themselves accessary to the ruin of thousands; and all the ca- 
lamities which fell on such proselytes, or even on their remotest- 
descendants, for the sake of Christianity, would be in a great 
measure chargeable on these first preachers of it. The blood of 
honest, yea, of pious, worthy, and heroic persons, who might 
otherwise have been the greatest blessings to the public, would 
in effect, be crying for vengeance against them. And the dis- 
tresses of the widows and orphans, which those martyrs might 
leave behind them, would join to swell the account. 

So that on the whole, the guilt of those malefactors, who 
are from time to time the victims of public justice, even for rob- 
bery, murder, or treason, is small when compared with that 
which we have now been stating. And corrupt as human nature 
is, it appears to be utterly improbable, that twelve men should 
be found, we will not say in one little nation, but even on the 
whole face of the earth, who could be capable of entering into 
so black a confederacy, on any terms whatsoever. 

And now, in this view of the case, let us make a serious 
pause, and compare with it what we have just been saying of 
the character of the apostles of Jesus, so far as an indifferent 
person could conjecture it from their writings, and then say, 
whether we can in our hearts believe them to have been these 
abandoned wretches, at once the reproach and astonishment of 
mankind? Would they have sealed a known falsity with their 
blood, or bartered their lives for the confirmation of vague no- 
tions or uncertain conjectures? We cannot surely believe such 
things of any, and much less of them, unless it shall appear they 
were in some peculiar circumstances of strong temptation ; and 
what those circumstances could be, it is difficult even for imag- 
ination to conceive. 



24 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



But history is so far from suggesting any unthought-of fact, 
to help our imagination on this head, that it bears strongly the 
contrary way. I shall now proceed to shew, 

That they were under no temptation to forge a story of this 
kind, or to publish it to the world, knowing it to be false. 

They could reasonably expect no gain, no reputation by it. 
But on the contrary, supposing it an imposture, they must, with 
the most ordinary share of prudence, have foreseen infamy and 
ruin, as the certain consequences of attempting it. For the 
grand foundation of their doctrines was, that Jesus of Nazareth, 
who was crucified at Jerusalem by the Jewish rulers, was the 
Son of God, and the Lord of all things. We appeal to men's 
consciences, whether this looks at all like the contrivances of 
artful and designing men? 

It was evidently charging upon the princes of their country, 
the most criminal and aggravated murder; indeed, all things 
considered, the most enormous act of wickedness which the sun 
had ever seen. They might therefore depend upon it, that 
these rulers would immediately employ all their art and power 
to confute the testimony, and to destroy their persons. Ac- 
cordingly, one of them was presently stoned; another quickly 
beheaded ; and most of the rest scattered abroad into strange 
cities (as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles) where they 
were sure to be received with great prejudices, raised against 
them amongst the Jews, by reports from Jerusalem, and highly 
strengthened by their expectations of a temporal Messiah: ex- 
pectations, which, as the apostles knew by their own experi- 
ence, it was exceedingly difficult to root out of men's minds: ex- 
pectations which would render the doctrine of Christ crucified 
an insuperable stumbling-block to the Jews. 

Nor could they expect a much better reception among the 
Gentiles, with whom their business was to persuade them to re- 
nounce the gods of their ancestors, and to depend upon a per- 
son who had died the death of a malefactor; to persuade them 
to forego the pompous idolatries in which they had been educa- 
ted, and all the sensual indulgences with which their religion 
(if it may be called a religion) was attended, to worship one 
invisible God through one Mediator, in a most plain and simple 
manner; and to receive a set of precepts, most directly calcula- 
ted to control and restrain not only the enormities of men's ac- 
tions, but the irregularities of their hearts. 

A most difficult undertaking! And to engage them to this, 
they had no other arguments to bring, but such as were taken 
from the views of an eternal state of happiness or misery, of 
which they asserted their crucified Jesus to be supreme disposer, 
who should another day dispense his blessings or his vengeance, 
as the Gospel had been embraced or rejected. Now, could 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



25 



it be imagined, that men would easily be persuaded, merely on 
the credit of their affirmation, or in compliance with their im- 
portunity, to believe things which to their prejudiced minds 
would appear so improbable, and to submit to impositions to 
their corrupt inclinations so insupportable? And if they could 
not persuade them to it, what could the apostles then expect? 
What but to be insulted as fools or madmen by one sort of peo- 
ple; and by another to be persecuted with the most savage and 
outrageous cruelty, as blasphemers of their gods, as seducers 
of the people, and disturbers of the public peace? All which 
we know happened accordingly. Nay, they assure us, that 
their Lord had often warned them of it; and they themselves 
expected it; and thought it necessary to admonish their fol- 
lowers to expect it too. And it appears, that far from drawing 
back upon that account, as they would surely have done, if 
they had been governed by secular motives, they became so 
much the more zealous and arduous; and animated each other 
to resist, even at the price of their blood. 

Now, as this is a great evidence of the integrity and piety 
of their characters, and thus illustrates the former head, so it 
serves to the purpose now immediately in view, that is, it 
proves how improbable it is that any person of common sense 
should engage in an imposture, from which, as many have justly 
observed, they could on their own principles have nothing to 
expect, but ruin in this world, and damnation in the next. 
When we therefore consider and compare their characters and 
circumstances, it appears utterly improbable, on various ac- 
counts, that they would have attempted in this article to impose 
upon the world. But suppose that in consequence of some un- 
accountable, as well as some undiscoverable frenzy, they had 
ventured on the attempt, it is easy to shew, 

That, humanly speaking, they must quickly have perished in 
it; and their cause must have died with them, without ever 
gaining any credit in the world. Common sense must have 
suggested to them that the report of a circumstance most extra- 
ordinary in its nature, if not attested by the most convincing 
evidence, must have exposed their cause as base, absurd, and 
contemptible. 

One may venture to say this in general, on the principles 
which we have before laid down. But it appears still more evi- 
dent, when we consider the nature of the fact they asserted, in 
conjunction with the methods they took to engage men to be- 
lieve it; methods, which, had the apostles been impostors, must 
have had the most direct tendency to ruin both their doctrine 
and themselves. 

Let us a little more particularly reflect on the nature of that 
grand fact, namely, the death, resurrection, and exaltation of 

4 



26 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



Christ; which, as already observed, was the great foundation of 
the Christian system, as first represented by the apostles. The 
resurrection of a dead man, and his ascension unto, and abode 
in the upper world, was so strange a thing, that a thousand ob- 
jections might immediately be raised against it: and some ex- 
traordinary proofs might justly be required as a balance to them. 
Now the rejectors of the Gospel, it might be supposed, would 
set themselves to invent some hypothesis, which should have 
some appearance of probability, to shew how such amazing cir- 
cumstances should ever gain credit in the world, if they had not 
some very convincing proofs. But this, with all their endea- 
vors, is totally impracticable; and consequently, the most con- 
vincing proof that can be given of the great truth of the whole. 

When the Christian seriously considers the horrid but vain at-* 
tempts these enemies to the Gospel make, to pervert that reli- 
gion on which the redemption of the human race is founded, 
how natural is it for him to ask, Is it possible that even the 
most impious and obstinate atheist can read with attention, the 
various and astonishing circumstances that attended the divine 
Redeemer from his birth to his crucifixion, and yet disbelieve? 
Does not even the minutest circumstance and transaction fully 
evince the great truths of his mission? And shall the atheist 
continue even to doubt, merely because himself was not an eye- 
witness to the facts recorded by those who were? 

The celebrated Dr. Watts has very justly pictured the char- 
acter of the atheist in the following stanzas: 

Fools in their hearts believe and say, 

That all religion's vain, 
There is no God that reigns on high, 

Or minds the affairs of men. 

From thoughts so dreadful and profane, 

Corrupt discourse proceeds; 
And in their impious hands are found 

Abominable deeds. 

Their tongues are us'd to speak deceit, 

Their slanders never cease: 
How swift to mischief are their feet, 

Nor know the paths of peace! 

Such seeds of sin (that bitter root) 

In all their hearts are found; 
Nor can they bear diviner fruit, 

Till grace refine the ground. 

But let us pursue the argument a little further, and we shall 
easily discover what must destroy every observation made by 
the Infidel, and confirm his opponent in the incontrovertible 

and glorious cause of the Christian religion. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION, 



^7 



The manner in which the apostles undertook to prove the 
truth of their testimony to these facts; and it will evidently ap- 
pear, that instead of confirming their system, it must have been 
sufficient utterly to have overthrown it, had it been itself the 
most probable imposture that the wit of man could ever have 
contrived. It is evident that they did not merely assert that 
they had seen miracles wrought by this Jesus, but that he had 
endowed themselves with a variety of miraculous powers. And 
these they undertook to display, not in such idle and useless 
tricks as slight-of-hand might perform; but in such solid and 
important works as appeared worthy of a divine interposition', 
and entirely superior to human power: restoring sight to the 
blind, soundness to lepers, activity to the lame; and, in some 
instances, life to the dead. Nor were these things undertaken 
in a corner, in a circle of friends or dependants; nor were 
they said to have been wrought on such as might be suspected 
of being confederate in the fraud; but they were done often in 
the public streets, in the sight of enemies, on the persons of 
such as were utter strangers to the apostles; but sometimes 
well known to neighbors and spectators, as having long labored 
under those calamities, which, to human skill, were utterly 
incurable. Would impostors have made such pretensions as 
these — or, if they had, must they not immediately have been 
exposed and ruined? 

Nor is there any room at all to object, that perhaps the apos- 
tles might not undertake to do these things on the spot, but 
only assert that they had done them elsewhere; for even then it 
would have been impossible that they should have gained credit; 
and they would have seemed less credible, on account of such 
a pretence. Whatever appearance there might have been of 
gravity, integrity, and piety, in the conversation of Peter, for 
instance, very few, especially such as had known but little of 
him, would have taken it upon his word, that he saw Jesus 
raise Lazarus from the dead at Bethany: but fewer yet would 
have believed his affirmation, had it been ever so solemn, that 
he himself raised Dorcas at Joppa, unless he had done some 
extraordinary work before them, correspondent at least, if not 
equal to that. One may easily think of invincible objections, 
which otherwise might have been made; and undoubtedly the 
more such assertions had been multiplied, every new person, 
scene, and fact, had been an additional advantage given to the 
enemy, to have detected and confuted the whole system, which 
Peter and his brethren had thus endeavored to establish. 

But to come still closer to the point: If the New Testament 
be genuine, as we have already proved it, then it is certain 
that the apostles wrought miracles in the very presence of those 
to whom their writings were addressed; nay more, they like- 



28 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



wise conferred those miraculous gifts in some considerable de- 
gree on others, even the very persons to whom they wrote: 
and they appeal to their consciences with regard to the truth of 
it. And could there possibly be room for delusion here? It is 
exceedingly remarkable to this purpose, that Paul makes this 
appeal to the Corinthians, and to the Galatians, when amongst 
them there were some persons disaffected to him, who were 
taking all opportunities to sink his character, and to destroy 
his influence. And could they have wished for a better oppor- 
tunity than such an appeal? An appeal which, had not the 
.fact it supposed been certain, far from recovering those that 
were wavering in their esteem, must have been sufficient utterly 
to disgust his most cordial and steady friends. The same re- 
mark may be applied to the advices and reproofs which the 
apostle there gives, relating to the use and abuse of their 
spiritual gifts: which had been notoriously absurd, and even 
ridiculous, had not the Christians to whom he wrote been really 
possessed of them. And these gifts were so plainly supernatu- 
ral, that, as it had been observed, if it be, allowed that mira- 
cles can prove a divine revelation, and that the First Epistle 
to the Corinthians be genuine, (of which, by the way, there is 
at least as pregnant evidences as that any part of the New Tes- 
tament is so) then it follows, by a sure and easy consequence, 
that Christianity is true. Nevertheless, other arguments are 
not to be forgotten in these observations. And therefore, as 
we have proved, that had the testimony of the apostles been 
false, it is not to be imagined they could have gained credit at 
all; especially when they had put the proof of their cause on 
such a footing as we are sure they did. We shall now proceed 
to shew, 

That it is a certain fact, the apostles did gain early credit, 
and succeeded in a most wonderful manner; from whence it will 
follow, that their testimonies were true. 

That the apostles did, indeed gain credit in the world, is 
evident from what we before offered, in order to prove the 
early prevalence of Christianity in it, and this may be farther 
confirmed from many passages in the New Testament. And 
here we insist not so much on express historical testimonies 
though some of them are very remarkable; especially that of 
the brethren at Jerusalem, who speak of vast numbers of be- 
lieving Jews assembled at the feast of Pentecost, mentioned in 
chap. ii. of the Acts. But I argue from the Epistles written 
to several churches, which plainly prove, that there were con- 
gregations of Christians in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Colosse, 
Thessalonica, Philippa, Laodicea, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thya- 
tira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Crete, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadoria, 
Asia, Bythinia, and many other places; insomuch that one of the 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. ^9 

apostles could say, " That Christ had so wrought by him to 
make the gentiles obedient not only in word or profession, but 
in deed too] that from Jerusalem, even round about into Illyr- 
ium, he had fully preached the Gospel of Christ:" or, as the 
word imports, "had accomplished" the purposes of it. And 
there is a great deal of reason, both from the nature of the 
thing, and from the testimony of ancient history, to believe that 
others of the apostles had considerable success elsewhere. So 
that St. Paul might with reason apply to them and their doc- 
trine, what is originally spoken of the luminaries of heaven, and 
the instruction they communicate, " their sound has gone out 
through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." 

So great was the number of those who were made proselytes 
to Christianity by the preaching of the apostles. And we have 
all imaginable reason to believe, that there were none of all those 
proselytes, but what were fully persuaded of the truth of the 
testimony they bore; for otherwise, no imaginable reason can be 
given for their entering themselves into such a profession. The 
apostles had no secular terror to affright their proselytes; no 
secular rewards to bribe them; no dazzling eloquence to en- 
chant them; on the contrary, all these were in a powerful man- 
ner pleading against the apostles; yet their testimony was 
received; and their new converts were so thoroughly satisfied 
with the evidence they gave them of their mission, that they 
encountered great persecutions, and cheerfully ventured estate, 
liberty, and life itself, on the truth of the facts they asserted; 
as plainly appears from the many passages in the Epistles, 
which none can think the apostles would ever have written, if 
those first Christians had not been in a persecuted condition. 

Nor will it signify any thing to object, that most of these 
converts were persons of a low rank and ordinary education, 
who therefore might be more easily imposed upon than others. 
For not to mention Sergius Paulus, Dionysius the Areopagite, 
or the domestics of Caesar's household, (with others of superior 
station in life) it is sufficient to call to mind, that the apostles 
did not put their cause on the issue of labored arguments, in 
which the populace might quickly have been entangled and 
lost, but on such plain facts as they might judge of as easily 
and surely as any others; indeed, on what they themselves saw, 
and, in part too, on what they felt. 

Now this might be sufficient to bring the matter to a satisfac- 
tory conclusion. It has been shewn, that there is no reason to 
believe, that the apostles, who certainly knew the truth, would 
have attempted a fraud of this kind— so, if they had attempted 
it, they could not possibly have -succeeded ; nevertheless, they 
did succeed in a very remarkable manner. Whence it plainly 
follows, that what they testified was true. 



30 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



Admitting the facts which they testified concerning Christ to 
be true, then it was reasonable for their eotemporaries, and is 
reasonable for us, to receive the Gospel, which they have trans- 
mitted to us as a divine revelation. 

The great things they asserted were, that Jesus was the 
Christ; and that he was proved to be so, by prophesies accom- 
plished in him, and by miracles wrought by him, and by others 
in his name. Let us attend to each of these, and we shall find 
them no contemptible arguments; but must be forced to ac- 
knowledge, that these premises being established, the conclu- 
sion most easily and necessarily follows. And this conclusion, 
"that Jesus is the Christ," taken in all its extent, is an abstract 
of the Gospel revelation; and therefore is sometimes put for the 
whole of it. 

The apostles, especially when disputing with the Jews, fre- 
quently argued from the prophesies of the Old Testament, in 
which they say many things were expressly foretold, which were 
most literally and exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Now, 
greatly to the evidence, confirmation and advantage of Chris- 
tianity, so it is, that these prophecies are to this day extant in 
the original language; and this in the hands of a people most 
implacably averse to the Gospel. So that an attentive reader 
may still, in a great measure, satisfy himself as to the validity of 
the arguments drawn from them. 

On searching these ancient and important records, we find 
not only in general, that it appeared the wisdom of God to raise 
up for his people an illustrious deliverer, who, among other glo- 
rious titles, is sometimes called the Messiah, or the Anointed 
One: but we are more particularly told, that this great event 
should happen before the government ceased in the tribe of 
Judah, while the second temple was standing; and a little 
before its destruction, about four hundred and ninety years 
\ after a command was given to rebuild Jerusalem; which was 
probably issued out in the seventh year of Artexerxes Longi- 
Imanus, or at least within a few years before or after it. It is 
predicted that he should be of the seed of Abraham, born of a 
virgin, of the house of David, in the town of Bethlehem ; that 
he should be anointed with an extraordinary effusion of the 
Divine Spirit; in virtue of which he should not only be a per- 
fect and illustrious example of universal holiness and goodness, 
but should also perform many extraordinary and beneficial mir- 
acles. Nevertheless, that for want of external pomp and splen- 
dor, he should be rejected and insulted by the Jews, and after- 
wards be cut off and slain by them. It is added, that he should 
rise from the dead before his body should be corrupted in the 
grave; and should be received up to heaven, and there seated 
at the right hand of God: from whence he should, in a won- 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



31 



derful manner, pour out his spirit on his followers; in conse- 
quence of which, though the body of the Jewish people per- 
ished in their obstinate opposition to him, yet the Gentiles should 
be brought to the knowledge of the true God, and a kingdom 
established amongst them, which from small beginnings should 
spread itself to the end of the earth, and continue to the remo- 
test ages. 

Besides these most material circumstances, there were sev- 
eral others relating to him, which were either expressly foretold, 
or at least hinted at; all which, with those already mentioned, 
had so evident an accomplishment in Jesus, that we have no 
reason to wonder that they should receive the word with all 
readiness who searched the Scriptures daily, whether these 
things were so predicted there, as the apostles affirmed. For 
we are persuaded that no wise and religious person could ima- 
gine, that God would permit an impostor to arise, in whom so 
great a variety of predictions, delivered by so many different 
persons, and in so many distant ages, should have an exact ac- 
complishment. 

When the apostles were preaching to heathens, it is indeed 
true, that they might wave the argument from prophecy, be- 
cause they were not capable judges of it. But when they insist 
on another, which might as soon captivate their belief, and as 
justly vindicate it; we mean, "the miracles performed by Christ, 
and those commissioned and influenced by him;" many of these 
were of such a nature as not to admit of any artifice or deceit: 
especially that most signal one of his resurrection from the 
dead, which may be called a miracle performed by, as well as 
upon, Christ; because he so expressly declares, that he had 
himself a power to resume his life at pleasure. The apostles 
well knew that this was a fact of such a nature that those who 
believed this, would never doubt of the rest. They often 
therefore single this out, and lay the whole stress of their cause 
upon it. This they proved to be true by their own testimony 
miraculously confirmed: and in proving this, they established 
Christianity on an impregnable rock. For we may safely refer 
it to any judge, whether it is an imaginable thing that God 
should raise the dead body of an impostor, especially, when 
he had solemnly appealed to such a resurrection, as a grand 
proof of his mission, and had expressly fixed the very day on 
which it was to happen. 

From these undeniable observations it is evident that those 
who, on the apostles' testimony, believed that the prophecies of 
the Old Testament were accomplished in Jesus, and that God 
bore witness to him by miracles, and raised him from the dead, 
had abundant reason to believe, that the doctrine which Christ 
taught was divine, and his Gospel a revelation from heaven, 



32 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



And if they had reason to admit this conclusion, then it is 
plain that we, who have such satisfactory evidences, on the one 
hand, that the testimony of the apostles was credible, and on 
the other, that this was the substance of it, have reason also to 
admit this grand inference from it, and embrace the Gospel as 
a faithful saying, and well worthy of acceptation. This is the 
thing we have attempted to prove; and here we should finish 
the argument, were it not for the confirmation it may receive 
from some additional considerations, which could not properly 
be introduced under any of the preceding heads. 

We therefore add, in the last place, That the truth of the 
Gospel has received farther and very considerable confirmation 
from what has happened in the world since it was first pub- 
lished. 

And here we must desire the reader to consider, on the one 
hand, what has been done to establish it, and, on the other, the 
methods which its enemies have been taking to destroy it. 

1. Consider, what God has been doing to confirm the Gos- 
pel, since its first publication. And we will venture to assert, 
that it will prove a farther evidence of its divine original. 

We might here argue at large from its surprising propagation 
in the world; — from the miraculous powers with which not only 
the apostles, but succeeding preachers of the Gospel, and other 
converts, were endowed; — from the accomplishment of the pro- 
phecies recorded in the old Testament; — and from the preser- 
vation of the Jews, as a distinct people, notwithstanding the 
various difficulties and persecutions through which they have 
passed. 

It might be particularly urged, in confirmation of the truth of 
Christianity, the wonderful success with which it has been at- 
tended, and the surprising propagation of the Gospel in the 
world. 

We have endeavored, under a former head, to shew, that the 
Gospel met with so favorable a reception in the world, as evi- 
dently proved, that its first publishers were capable of produ- 
cing sufficient evidence of its truth; evidence absolutely incom- 
patible with imposture. But we shall now carry this remark 
farther, and assert, that considering the circumstances of the 
case, it is amazing, that even truth itself, under so many disad- 
vantages, should have so illustrious a triumph; and that its won- 
derful success so evidently proves such an extraordinary inter- 
position of the Almighty in its favor, as may justly be called a 
miraculous attestation of it. 

There was not only 44 one of a family, or two of a city, taken 
and brought to Zion; but the Lord so hastened it, in its ap- 
pointed time, that a little one became a thousand, and a small 
one a strong nation." And as the apostles themselves were 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



33 



honored with very remarkable success, so this divine seed was 
propagated so fast in the next age, that Pliny testifies, " He 
found the heathen temples in Achaia almost deserted:" and 
Tertullian afterwards boasts, " That all places, except those 
temples, were filled with Christians; so that were they only to 
withdraw, cities and provinces would be depopulated." Nor 
did the Gospel only triumph thus within the boundaries of the 
Roman empire; for long before Tertullian was born, Justin 
Martyr, in his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, which seems to 
have been written not much above an hundred years after 
Christ's death, declares, " That there was no nation of men, 
whether Greeks or Barbarians, not excepting those savages 
that wandered in clans from one region to another, and had no 
fixed habitation, who had not learned to offer prayers and 
thanksgivings to the Father and Maker of all, in the name of 
Jesus, who was crucified." 

Now how is it possible to account for such circumstances as 
these, but by saying the hand of the Lord was with the first 
preachers of the Gospel, and therefore such multitudes be- 
lieved, and turned to the Lord? How was it possible for so 
small a fountain to have swelled immediately into a mighty riv- 
er, and even have so extensively spread itself on the face of the 
earth, if it had not sprung from the sanctuary of God, and been 
rendered triumphant by his Almighty arm? 

Had this new religion, so directly contrary to all the preju- 
dices of education, been formed to soothe men's vices, to coun- 
tenance their errors, to defend their superstitions, or to promote 
their secular interests, we might easily have accounted for its 
prevalence in the world. Had its preachers been profound phi- 
losophers, or polite and fashionable orators, many might have 
been charmed, at least for awhile, to follow them: or had the 
princes and potentates of the earth declared themselves its pat- 
rons, and armed their legions for its defence and propagation, 
multitudes might have been terrified into the profession, though 
not a soul could by such means have been rationally persuaded 
to the use of it. But without some such advantages as these, 
we can hardly conceive, how any new religion should so strange- 
ly prevail; even though it had crept into the world in its dark- 
est ages, and the most barbarous countries ; and though it had 
been gradually proposed in the most artful manner, with the 
finest veil industriously drawn over every part which might at 
first have given disgust to the beholder. 

But every one knows that the very reverse of all this was the 
cause of Christianity. It is abundantly evident, from the ap- 
parent constitution of the religion of Jesus, that the lusts and 
errors, the superstitions and interests of carnal men, would im- 
mediately rise up against it as a most irreconcilable enemy* 



34 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



It is known that the learning and wit of the Greeks and Ro- 
mans were early employed to ridicule and obstruct its progress. 
It is known, that as all the herd of heathen deities were to be 
discarded, the priests, who subsisted by the superstitious wor- 
ship paid them, must in interest find themselves obliged to op- 
pose it. It is known, that the princes of the earth drew the 
sword against it, and armed torments and death for the de- 
struction of its followers. And yet it triumphed over all, 
though published in ages and places celebrated for learning and 
elegance; and proposed, not in an ornamental and artificial 
manner, but with the utmost plainness; the doctrines of the 
cross being always advanced as its grand foundation, though so 
notorious a stumbling-block both to the Jews and Gentiles; and 
the absolute necessity, not only of embracing Christianity but also 
of renouncing all idol worship, being insisted on immediately 
and in the strongest terms, and which must have made the reli- 
gion of the Gospel appear to them the most singular that had 
ever been taught in the world. 

Had one of the wits or politicians of the present age, seen 
the apostles, and a few other plain men, who had been educated 
among the lowest of the people, as most of the first teachers of 
Christianity were, going out armed with nothing but faith, 
truth, and goodness, to encounter the power of princes, the 
bigotry of priests, the learning of philosophers, the rage of the 
populace, and the prejudices of all; how would we have de- 
rided the attempt, and said with Sanballat, " What will these 
feeble Jews do?" But had he seen the event, surely he must 
have owned with the Egyptian Magi, in a far less illustrious 
miracle, that it was the finger of God ; and might justly have 
fallen on his face, even among those whom he had insulted, 
with an humble acknowledgment " that God was with them of 
a truth." 

We must not forget to mention the accomplishment of several 
prophecies, recorded in the New Testament, as a further confir- 
mation given by God to the Gospel. 

The most eminent and signal instance under this head, is that 
of our Lord's prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, as recorded by St, Matthew, in his twenty-fourth chapter. 
The tragical history of it is most circumstantially described by 
Josephus, the historian, who was an eye witness of it; and 
the description which he has given of this s*ad calamity so ex- 
actly corresponds with the prophecy, that one would have 
thought, had we not known the contrary, that it had been 
written by a Christian, on purpose to illustrate it. And one 
can never enough admire that series of amazing providence, by 
which the author was preserved from most imminent danger. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



35 



that he might leave us that invaluable treasure which his 
writings contain. 

We have no need of further evidence than we find in Jose- 
phus, of the exact accomplishment of what was prophesied 
concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. But our Lord had 
also foretold the long-continued desolation of the temple. And 
we cannot forbear mentioning the awful sanction which was 
given to that part of the prediction. For it is well known, 
that a heathen historian has assured us, that when Julian the 
apostate, in deliberate contempt of that prediction, solemnly 
and resolutely undertook to rebuild it; his impious design 
was frustrated miraculously, again and again; the workmen 
being consumed by globes of fire, which broke out from the 
foundations. 

The prediction of St. Paul concerning the man of sin, and 
the apostacy of the latter times, is also well worthy of our 
remark; and though a great part of the book of Revelations 
be still concealed under a dark veil, yet the division of the Ro- 
man empire into ten kingdoms, the usurpation, persecution, 
and idolatry of the Romish church, and the long duration of 
the papal power with several other extraordinary events, which 
no human prudence could have foreseen, and which have hap- 
pened long since the publication of that book, are so clearly 
foretold there, that we cannot but look on that part of the 
Scripture as an invaluable treasure: and it is not at all impro- 
bable, that the more visible accomplishment of some of its other 
prophecies, may be a great means of reviving the Christian 
cause, which is at present so much on the decline. 

The preservation of the Jews, as a distinct people, is another 
particular, under this head, which well deserves our attentive 
regard. 

'Tis plain that they are very numerous, notwithstanding all 
the slaughter and destruction of this people in former and latter 
ages. They are dispersed among Various and most distant na- 
tions, and particularly in those parts of the world where Chris- 
tianity is professed ; and though they are exposed to great hatred 
and contempt on account of their different faith, and in most 
places subject to civil incapacities, if not to unchristian severities; 
yet they are still most obstinately tenacious of their religion : which 
is the more wonderful, as their fathers were so prone to aposta- 
tize from it; and as most of them seem to be utter strangers en- 
tirely to piety or humanity, and pour the greatest contempt on 
the moral precepts of their own law, while they are so attached 
to the ceremonial institutions of it, troublesome and inconve- 
nient as they are. Now let us seriously reflect, what an evident 
hand of providence is here; — that by their dispersion, preser- 
vation, and adherence to their religion, it should come to pass, 



36 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



that Christians should daily see the accomplishment of many 
remarkable prophecies concerning this people; and that we 
should always have amongst us such a crowd of unexceptiona- 
ble witnesses to the truth of those ancient Hebrew records, on 
which so much of the evidence of the Gospel depends: records 
which are many of them so full to the purpose for which we 
allege them, that, as a celebrated writer very well observes, 
" Had it been represented that the whole body of the Jewish 
nation had been converted to Christianity, men would certainly 
have thought the assertion had been forged by Christians; and 
have looked upon them in the same light with the prophecies of 
the Sybils, as made many years after the events which they pre- 
tended to foretell." 

And to add no more here, the preservation of the Jews as a 
distinct people, evidently leaves room for the accomplishment 
of those Old and New Testament prophecies, which relate to 
their national conversion and restoration: whereas that would 
be impossible in itself, or at least impossible to be known, if 
they were promiscuously blended with other people. On the 
whole, it is such a scene in the conduct of Providence, as we 
are well assured, cannot be paralleled in the history of any other 
nation upon earth: and affords a most obvious and important 
argument in favor of the Gospel. 

Thus has Christianity been further confirmed since its publi- 
cation, by what God has done to establish it. It only remains 
that we consider, 

2. What confirmation it receives from the methods which its 
enemies have taken to destroy it. 

And these have generally been, either persecution, or false- 
hood, or cavilling at some particulars in the revelation, without 
entering into the grand argument on which it is built, and fair- 
ly debating what is offered in its defence. Now who would not 
think the better of a cause for being thus attacked? 

At first it is known, that the professors, and especially the 
preachers of the Gospel, were severely persecuted. In every 
city, bonds and imprisonments awaited them. As soon as ever 
the apostles began to preach Jesus and his resurrection, the Jew- 
ish rulers laid hold on them; and having confined and scourged 
them, strictly prohibited their speaking any more in his name. 
A little while after Stephen was murdered; and afterwards 
James and some other of the apostles. Now certainly such a 
conduct evidently betrayed a consciousness that they were not 
able to answer the apostles, and to support their own cause by 
the fair methods of reason and argument, to which, so far as the 
history affords us, they made no pretence, but attempted to bear 
them down by dint of authority, and to silence them by brutal 
force. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



37 



It .would be needless to attempt shewing particularly how 
these unrighteous methods were pursued in succeeding ages and 
distant countries. The savage cruelties of Nero to these innocent 
and holy men were such as raised the pity even of their enemies. 
Yet this was one of the least extensive and destructive of the ten 
general persecutions, which arose in the Roman empire, besides 
several others in the neighboring countries, of which ecclesias- 
tical history informs us. 

These early enemies of the Gospel added falsehood and slan- 
der to their inhumanities. They endeavored to murder the 
reputations of Christians, as well as their persons; and were 
not ashamed to represent them as haters of the whole human 
species, for no imaginable reason but that they would not as- 
sociate themselves in their idolatrous worship. Nay, they 
charged them with human sacrifices, incest, idolatry, and all 
the crimes for which themselves and their false gods were in- 
deed justly detestable: but from which the Christians knew how 
to vindicate themselves, highly to their own honor, and the 
everlasting reproach of these malignant and pestilent accusers. 
And they have not failed to do it in many noble apologies, 
which through the divine Providence are transmitted to us, and 
are incomparably the most valuable of any ancient uninspired 
writings. 

Such were the infamous, the scandalous methods, by which 
the Gospel was opposed in the earliest ages of the church; and 
it must be added, that the measures more lately taken to sub- 
vert it, especially among ourselves, seem rather to reflect a 
glory on it. The unhappy enemies of the Gospel of the Son 
of God have been told again and again, that we put the proof 
of it on plain facts. They themselves do not and cannot deny, 
that it prevailed early in the world, as we have shewn at large. 
There must have been some man or body of men who first in- 
troduced it; and even themselves, notwithstanding all their ob- 
stinacy and perverseness, generally confess that Christ and his 
apostles were the persons; which is a manifest acknowledg- 
ment of the most forcible argument they can give against their 
own debased principles. 

Now which of these schemes will the unbelievers take? It 
seems that the deists of the present age fix on neither, as be- 
ing secretly conscious they cannot support either; but they 
content themselves with cavilling at some circumstances attend- 
ing the revelation, without daring to encounter its grand evi- 
dence; that is, they have been laboriously attempting to prove 
it to be improbable, or absurd, to suppose that to have been, 
which nevertheless plainly appears to have been facts. One 
of them most weakly and sophistically attempts to prove, in de- 
fiance of the common sense of mankind, that the light of na~ 



38 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



ture is a perfect rule, and therefore, that all revelation is need- 
less, and indeed impossible. Another disguises the miracles of 
Christ by false representations of them, and then treats them 
as idle tales. A third takes a great deal of fruitless pains to 
shew, that some prophecies referred to in the New Testament 
are capable of another sense, different from that in which the 
apostles have taken them. 

These things have been set in a very artful and fallacious 
light by persons, whose names will perhaps be transmitted to 
posterity with the infamous stigma of having been leaders in 
the cause of infidelity: but not a man of them undertakes to 
ascertain the grand fact. Nay, they generally take no more 
notice of the positive evidences by which it is even demonstra- 
ted, than if they had never heard it proposed; though they cavil 
at incidental passages in those books in which it is most clearly 
stated. And as for what they have urged, though perhaps 
some who were before weary of Christianity, may have taken 
occasion to reject it, and others for want of consulting the an- 
swers to them, may have been unwarily ensnared; yet the ex- 
amination of these points has been greatly for the honor and 
vindication of the truth, which seems on this occasion to have 
been set in a clearer and stronger light than ever, at least in 
these latter ages. 

The cause of Christianity has greatly gained by debate, and 
the Gospel comes like fine gold out of the furnace, which the 
more it is tried, the more it is approved. It must be owned, 
that the defenders of the Gospel have appeared with very differ- 
ent degrees of ability for the work; nor could it be otherwise 
among such numbers of them: but, on the whole, though the 
patrons of infidelity have been masters of wit, humor, and ad- 
dress, as well as of a moderate share of learning, and gener- 
ally much more than a moderate share of assurance; yet so 
great is the force of truth, that (unless we may expect those 
writers who have unhappily called for the aid of the civil 
magistrate in the controversy) we cannot recollect to have seen 
any defence of the Gospel, which has not, on the whole, been 
sufficient to establish it, notwithstanding all the sophistical ar- 
guments of its subtle antagonists. 

This is an observation that is continually gaining new 
strength, as new assaults are made upon the Gospel; and we 
cannot forbear saying, that as if it were by a kind of judicial 
infatuation, some who have distinguished themselves in the 
wretched cause of infidelity, have been permitted to fall into 
such gross misrepresentations, such senseless inconsistencies, 
such palpable falsehoods, and in a word, into such various 
and malignant superfluity of naughtiness, that to a wise and 
pious mind, they must appear like those venomous creatures, 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



39 



which are said to carry an antidote in their own objections, 
particularly a noble Lord, who has given up several of the 
deistical objections, and even acknowledged the divine original 
of the Gospel; for he asserts, " That no religion ever ap- 
peared in the world, whose natural tendency was so much di- 
rected to promote the peace and happiness of mankind." He 
declares, that " No system can be more simple and plain than 
that of a natural religion as it stands in the Gospel." He 
avers, that " he will not say, that the belief that Jesus was the 
Messiah, is the only article of belief necessary to make men 
Christians. There are other things doubtless contained in the 
revelation he made of himself, dependent on, and relative to 
this article, without the belief of which I suppose our charity 
would be very defective. But this I say, that the system of 
religion which Christ published, and his evangelists recorded, 
is a complete system to all the purposes of religion, natural 
and revealed. It contains all the duties of the former, it en- 
forces the whole law of faith, by promising rewards, and threat- 
ening punishments, which he declares he will distribute when 
he comes to judge the world." The same writer alloweth that 
the Gospel is in all cases one continued lesson of the strictest 
morality, of justice, of benevolence, and of universal charity. 
He professeth a great concern for true charity, in opposition 
to theology, and says, that " genuine Christianity was taught 
of God." And not to multiply passages to this purpose, he 
pronounces, that " the Christian system of faith and practice 
was revealed of God himself, and it is absurd and impious to 
assert, that the divine Being revealed it incompletely and im- 
perfectly. Its simplicity and plainness shew, that it was de- 
signed to be the religion of mankind, and also manifest the di- 
vinity of its original." After reading these quotations and a 
great variety of others which might be produced from his 
Lordship's writings, the reader may easily judge what reli- 
gion has to fear from this noble writer's arguments, and we 
will venture to assert, that he has himself entirely confuted his 
own objections. 

Thus have we given the reader a brief view of the chief ar- 
guments in proof of Christianity, and the sum of the whole 
is this: 

The Gospel is probable in theory, as considering the nature 
of God, and the circumstances of mankind, there was reason 
to hope a revelation might be given; and if any were given, 
we should naturally apprehend its internal evidence would be 
such as that of the Gospel is, and its external such as it is said 
to be. But it is also true in fact.; for Christianity was early 
professed, as it was first introduced by Jesus of Nazareth, 
whose life and doctrines were published by his immediate at- 



40 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



tendants, whose books are still preserved in the original lan- 
guage, and, in the main, are faithfully translated into our own; 
so that the books of the New Testament now in use, may be 
depended upon as written by the persons whose names they 
bear; and admitting this, the truth of the Gospel follows by a 
train of very easy consequences: for the authors certainly 
knew the truth of the facts they related; and considering what 
appears in the character and circumstances, we can never 
believe they would have attempted to deceive us; for if they 
had, they could not have gained credit in the world: but they did 
gain it in a very remarkable manner; therefore, the facts they 
attested were true, and the truth of the Gospel evidently follows 
from the certainty of those facts, and is completely confirmed 
by what has happened in the world since the publication of it. 

This is the sum of what we flatter ourselves we have suffi- 
ciently proved; and shall now conclude what we have to say on 
this subject, with a few words by way of reflection. 

1. Let us gratefully acknowledge the divine goodness, in 
favoring us with so excellent a revelation, and confirming it to 
us by such ample evidence. 

We should daily adore the God of nature, for lighting up 
the sun, that glorious, though imperfect image of his own un- 
approachable lustre; and appointed it to gild the earth with 
the various rays, to cheer us with its benign influences, and to 
guide and direct us in our journeys and labors. But how 
incomparably more valuable is that " day-spring from on high, 
which hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in dark- 
ness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the 
way of peace?" Oh ye Christians, whose eyes are so happy 
to see, and your ears to hear, what reason have you for daily 
and hourly praise! When your minds are delighted with con- 
templating the riches of Gospel grace, when you view with won- 
der and joy, the harmonious system of your redemption; when 
you feel the burden of your guilt removed, the freedom of your 
address to the throne of Grace encouraged, and see the pros- 
pect of a fair inheritance to eternal glory opening upon you; 
then, in the pleasing transports of your souls, borrow the joy- 
ful anthem of the psalmist, and say, with the humblest grati- 
tude and self-resignation, " God is the Lord who sheweth us 
light; bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the 
altar." Adore " God who first commanded the light to shine 
out of darkness," that by the discoveries of his word, and the 
operations of his Spirit, he hath " shined in your hearts to 
give you the knowledge of his glory, as reflected from the 
face of his Son." Let us all adore him, that this revelation 
hath reached us, who live in an age and country so distant 
from that in which it first appeared; while there are to this 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



41 



very day, not only dark corners, but regions of the earth, that 
44 are full of the habitations of idolatry and cruelty." 

Let us peculiarly address ourselves to those whose educa- 
tion and circumstances of life have given them opportunities 
of a fuller inquiry into the state of those ancient or modern na- 
tions, that have been left merely to the light of unassisted rea- 
son ; even to those who are acquainted with the history of their 
gods, the rites of their priests, the tales and even the hymns of 
their poets; nay, we will add, the reasoning of the sagest 
philosophers; all the precious and all the erroneous things they 
have said where religion and immortality are concerned. It 
may be imagined, that God gave to some of the most celebrated 
pagan writers that uncommon share of genius and eloquence, 
that they might, as it were, by their art, embalm the monsters 
of antiquity; that so succeeding ages might see in a more 
affecting view than we could otherwise have done, how weak 
the human mind is in its best estate, and the need which the 
greatest as well as the meanest of mankind have of being taught 
by a revelation from above. While we are daily conversing 
with such monuments as these, and are also surveying the evi- 
dences of Christianity, in a large and more distinct view than 
it was possible for us here to suppose them, we are under pe- 
culiar obligations to be very thankful for the Gospel ourselves, 
as well as to compassionate the cause of those to whom it has 
never been offered, or by whom it is slighted. And this leads 
us to another reflection. 

2. What reason have we to pity those who reject this glori- 
ous Gospel, even when they have opportunities of inquiring 
into its clearest evidences? 

Such undoubtedly we have in our own age and nation: and 
surely we should sometimes bestow a compassionate thought 
upon them, and lift up humble prayers for them, that God, per- 
adventure, may give them repentance to the acknowledgment of 
the truth, that they may recover themselves out of the snare 
of the devil, who are now led captive by him at his pleasure; 
we should pity heathens and Mahometans under their darkness 
and errors ; but how much more deplorable is the case of these, 
who though they dwell in Emanuel's land, and in the valley of 
Zion, turn it into the valley of the shadow of death, by clo- 
sing their eyes against so bright a lustre, and stopping their ears 
against the voice of the charmer? They are, indeed, in their 
own conceit, the only wise people, but their wisdom will die 
with them: so that to be sure, they will scorn our pity. But 
who can forbear it? Is there a more melancholy thought than 
this, that the Son of God should have done so much to intro- 
duce and establish the Gospel, and his Spirit so much to per- 
petuate and increase its evidence; and that after all it should be 

6 



42 AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 

contemptuously despised, even by creatures who are perishing 
without it? This is not only done, though we believe most 
frequently, by men of profligate and abandoned lives; but some- 
times by persons who have the appearance of external morality, 
decency, and humanity, (for such are to be found among 
them) as well as men of wit and genius, of politeness and 
learning, of human prudence and experience in worldly affairs. 
It may also be added, that it is the case of some who were the 
children of pious parents, who were trained up in religious exer- 
cises, who once discovered serious impressions, and gave 
very encouraging hopes. Alas, whither are they fallen! How 
shall we shelter those that were once our brethren, that are 
perhaps still our friends, from the awful sentence which the Gos- 
pel denounces against all that reject it without any exception? 
As to the wretches that add insult and derision to their infidel- 
ity, we tremble to think of that load of guilt which they are 
bringing upon themselves; and how near their approach to the 
unpardonable sin, if they have not already committed it. For 
the rest, who behave in a more modest and sober manner, it 
will no doubt be a very difficult task to convince them: and so 
much the rather, as some of them, by too easy a transition, 
have renounced many of the most important principles of nat- 
ural religion: nay, it might be added, even the whole of it, 
together with the Christian revelation. But the influences of 
divine grace are almighty. Let us recommend them to it, and 
omit no other proper method, either of recovering such as are 
already seduced; or at least of securing those who are not yet 
infected, but may be, as most of the youth are, especially in 
the most populous places, in imminent danger of the contagion. 
To this end let us add, 

3. How reasonable it is, that Christians should form a fa- 
miliar acquaintance with the great evidences of our common 
faith. 

It is what we so apparently owe to the honor of God, to 
the interest of Christ, to the peace of our own souls, and the 
edification of others, that we hope we need not urge it at large, 
especially considering what has been said before. In conse- 
quence of all, let it be your care to make the evidences of Chris- 
tianity the subject of your serious reflection and frequent con- 
verse. Especially study your Bibles, where such marks of 
truth and divinity are to be found, that we hope few who have 
familiary known them and have had a relish for them, were 
ever brought to make shipwreck of their faith as it is in Jesus. 
Above all, let it be your care, to act on the rules which are 
here laid down: and then you will find your faith growing in 
a happy proportion, and experience the truth of our Saviour's 
declaration, that if any man resolutely and faithfully do his will. 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



43 



he shall know of the Christian doctrine, whether it be of God, 
We verily believe, that it is the purity of its precepts which 
lies at the bottom of most men's opposition to it; or a natural 
pride of heart, which gives them an aversion to it; or a fond 
affectation of seeming wiser than others, in rejecting what most 
of their neighbors do profess to believe. When these un- 
happy prejudices and conceptions are, by divine grace, con- 
quered and rooted out, the evidence of truth will daily appear 
with increasing lustre: as the light of the sun does to an eye 
recovering from the film with which it hath been overgrown; 
and which before had veiled it with midnight in the midst of 
noon. 

4. How solicitous should we be to embrace and obey that 
Gospel, which comes attended with such abundant evidences! 

We may undoubtedly address ourselves to most of our readers, 
and say as Paul did to King Agrippa: " Believest thou the 
prophets? I know that thou believest:" yet let me entreat and 
charge you not to rest here; but attentively to examine how 
far your hearts are affected, and your lives regulated by such 
a belief. The Christian revelation is a practical thing; and is 
heard, believed, and professed in vain, if it be not obeyed. 

In this Gospel " the wrath of God is revealed from heaven 
against all the ungodliness of men:" but it is revealed with re- 
doubled fury against that audacious sinner, " who holds the 
truth in unrighteousness." In this Gospel the blessed Jesus is 
exalted, both as a " Prince and Saviour;" and it is not with 
impunity, that the impenitent rebel can reject his yoke, and 
trample on his blood. What must they expect, who have pour- 
ed contempt on such a Sovereign, and on such a Redeemer? 

Let it be earnestly and frequently recollected, that this Gos- 
pel is the touchstone by which we are one day to be tried; the 
balance in which an impartial judge will weigh us: and must, 
on the whole, prove our everlasting triumph, or our everlasting 
torment. The Almighty did not introduce it with such solemn 
notice, such high expectation, such pompous miracles, such 
awful sanctions, that men might reject or dishonor it at plea- 
sure; but it will certainly be found, to the greatest and meanest 
of those that hear it, " a savour of life unto life, or a savour of 
death unto death." 

Let it therefore be your immediate care to inquire, which of 
these it is likely to prove to your souls ; remember it is so far 
from being a vain thing, that it is really your very life. If it 
has been hitherto despised, and that blessed Redeemer in whom 
it so evidently centers, has been neglected, assure yourselves, 
that all we have said in confirmation of its truth, proves only, 
that the " hand- writing of God" is set to your condemnation. 
Allow yourselves, therefore, not a moment's rest, till you have 



44 



AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. 



with humble submission applied to his throne, while there is yet 
hope that it may be reversed. 

And for you who have hitherto believed and obeyed the Gos- 
pel, let it be your care to defend and adorn it; " be blameless 
and harmless, the children of God, without rebuke, in the midst 
of a crooked and perverse generation, shining among them as 
lights in the world:" perhaps your example may not only serve 
to entertain their eyes, but " to guide their feet into the way of 
peace," and engage them also to join with you in "glorifying 
your Father which is in heaven:" above all, be careful to hold 
fast the form of sound words, and to adorn the doctrine of your 
blessed Saviour in all things. 



THE 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

LIFE OF OUR BLESSED LORD AND SAVIOUR 

JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER I. 

Presage of the Birth of Christ. — Prediction of the Birth of 
John the Baptist. — Salutation of the Blessed Virgin by the 
Angel. — Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth. — Birth 
of the Baptist. 

No event that ever did, or perhaps will happen, can more re- 
markably display the wisdom and power of the GREAT JEHO- 
VAH, than the glorious manner in which he brought life and 
immortality to light, by the Gospel of his only Son, manifested 
in the flesh. 

History, as it refers merely to human events, is a pleasing and 
instructing subject; but that which relates to our immortal inter- 
est, certainly claims our most serious regard. 

The mind of man cannot be more delightfully employed, than 
in the contemplation of the wisdom and goodness of the omnip- 
otent Creator of the universe, who, by means the least thought 
of and imagined, confirmed and established that glorious Gos- 
pel, on which depend all the sinner's hopes of eternal salvation. 
'Notwithstanding the strength and number of its enemies, the 
church of Christ grew, from the most inconsiderable begin- 
nings, to an immense fabric or building in the Lord; nor shall 
the united efforts of earth and hell be able to prevail against it. 
As it was planted, so it was reared, by an Almighty Hand, 
which, like the careful husbandman, pruned and cultivated each 
tender sprig, till it arrived at full perfection; or, to use the 
words of our blessed Lord, " The least of all seeds grew up and 
waxed a great tree, and spread out its branches, and filled the 
earth." 

Thus prevailed eternal truth; nor could the inveterate Jews, 
or superstitious heathens, resist its progress; though Herod 
and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and people of Israel, 

45 



46 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



u gathered themselves together against the Lord, and against his 
anointed;" for the doctrine of God confounded the wisdom of the 
one, and overcame the folly of the other. 

If we survey the stupendous works of the creation, we shall 
find that few arrived at perfection at once. This observation 
is amply confirmed by the various productions in the natural, 
and changes in the moral, world. The Supreme Being, who 
conducts all his operations according to his infinite wisdom, 
appears to have retained the same maxim in regulating his kind- 
est dispensations to the sons of men. The divine will was not 
revealed at first, in its clearest evidence and fullest splendor. 
The dawn, in a spiritual as well as in a natural sense, preceded 
the meridian glory; the former revelation was but a type or 
earnest of the latter, and, in comparison with it, intricate and 
mysterious. 

The all-gracious God, as it seemed best to his unerring wis- 
dom, was pleased, by degrees, to open and unfold his glorious 
counsels; and man, by degrees, attained to the knowledge of the 
great plan of salvation, and the means used by its great Author 
to promote and establish it. 

Some time before the incarnation of the blessed Jesus, an 
opinion prevailed among the pious part of the Jews, that the 
great Jehovah would condescend to favor them with a clear 
revelation of his divine will, by the mission of some eminent 
person, qualified from above, to instruct them in the same. 
This opinion was founded on the predictions of the ancient 
prophets, who had described, with the utmost beauty and clear- 
ness, the person, character, and glory of the Messiah, appointed 
by God, in his own good time, to declare his eternal counsels to 
mankind. 

Relying on the fulfillment of these prophecies, the devout 
persons among the Jews, imagined the time appointed by God 
near at hand, and that the promised Messiah would shortly 
make his appearance, and therefore are said to have " waited 
night and day for the consolation of Israel." These people, at 
that time grievously oppressed by the Roman power, and con- 
sequently anxious of regaining their liberty, as well as revenging 
themselves on their tyrannical oppressors, waited the accom- 
plishment of the prophecies with the most solicitous desire. But 
this opinion of the approach of a general deliverer extended 
much farther than the country of the Jews; for through their 
connexions with so many countries, their disputes with the 
learned men among the heathens, and the translation of the Old 
Testament into a language now almost general, their religion 
greatly prevailed in the east; and, consequently, their opinion 
that a prince would appear in the kingdom of Judea, who would 
dispel the mists of ignorance, deliver the Jews from the Roman 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



47 



yoke, and spread his dominion from one end of the world to the 
other. 

While the eastern world was fraught with these sanguine 
hopes, the angel Gabriel, who had appeared to Daniel the pro- 
phet, with a certain information as to the period of the Messiah's 
coming, as well as his transactions in this lower world, was sent 
to. Zacharias, a pious priest, while he was executing his office 
before God, in the order of his course (which was to burn incense 
when he went into the temple of the Lord,) to foretell that a child 
should spring from him and his wife Elizabeth, though they were 
stricken in years, who should be endowed with extraordinary 
gifts from heaven, and honored with being the forerunner of the 
Saviour of the world. 

Zacharias, when he saw the angel, though he knew him to be 
of heavenly extraction, could not judge the subject of his mis- 
sion, and therefore discovered a mixture of fear and surprise; 
but the heavenly ambassador cheered his desponding soul with 
this kind address: "Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, 
and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call 
his name John." That he waited, day and night, for the conso- 
lation of Israel, he well knew, which is all we can understand 
by his prayer being heard; for it was unnatural for him to think 
that he and his wife Elizabeth who were advanced in years, 
should have a son; nay, he intimates his doubt concerning it in 
these words: "Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, 
and my wife well stricken in years." Besides, he was a priest 
of the course of Abiah, whose particular office was to pray in 
behalf of the people, for public and national blessings; so that 
it is very reasonable to think, that on all occasions of public 
worship, he prayed most earnestly for the accomplishment of the 
prophecies relative to the appearance of the long-expected Mes- 
siah, who was promised as a general blessing to all the nations 
of the earth. 

That this was the great subject of his prayer, appears from 
the declaration of Gabriel: The prayer thou hast directed with 
sincerity to an Almighty ear, concerning the coming of the 
Messiah, is heard; "and behold thy wife Elizabeth shall bear 
thee a son,'' who shall prepare the way for the mighty Redeemer 
of Israel. The old priest, indeed, was as much astonished at 
the subject of the mission, as he was at the appearance of the 
messenger; and esteeming it impossible that his wife, thus ad- 
vanced in years, should conceive a son, weakly demanded a 
sign, to confirm his belief in the fulfillment of the promise, though 
he knew the authority of the angel was derived from the God of 
Truth. But as it is the lot of humanity to err, Zacharias had, 
for that time, forgot that nothing was impossible to Omnipo- 
tence, as well as that it was not the first time the aged were 



48 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



caused to conceive, and bare a child. The least reflection 
would have reminded him, that Sarah conceived and bore Isaac, 
when she was far advanced in years; and that Samuel was born 
of a woman, who had been long reputed, and even called 
barren. 

His curiosity was, indeed, gratified, but in a manner that 
carried with it, at once, a confirmation of the promise, and a 
punishment of his unbelief. As he had verbally testified his 
doubt of the fulfillment of the prediction of the angel, he was 
punished with the loss of his speech, which was to continue to the 
very day in which the prediction should be accomplished: "Be- 
hold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day 
that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not 
my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." 

Zacharias soon received an awful testimony of the divinity of 
the mission of Gabriel, who was no sooner departed than he was 
struck dumb; for when he came to pray, in the course of his 
office, during the oblation of his incense, he could not utter a 
word, and was under a necessity of making signs to the people, 
that an angel had appeared to him in the temple, and that he 
was deprived of the faculty of speech, as a punisment for his 
doubting the fulfillment of an event of which he had been foretold 
concerning him. 

Soon after Zacharias departed to his own house, (the days of 
his ministration being accomplished,) his wife Elizabeth, accord- 
ing to the prediction of the angel, conceived, and retired into a 
private place, where she lived five months in the uninterrupted 
exercises of piety, devotion, and contemplation on the mysterious 
providence of the Almighty, and his amazing goodness to the 
sinful children of men. 

When Elizabeth was advanced six months in her pregnancy, 
the same heavenly ambassador was sent to a poor virgin, called 
Mary, who lived in obscurity in Nazareth, under the care of 
Joseph, to whom she was espoused. This man and woman were 
both lineally descended from the house of David, from whose 
loins it was foretold the great Messiah should spring. 

This virgin being ordained by the Most High to be the mother 
of the great Saviour of the world was saluted by the angel in the 
most respectable terms: "Hail! thou that art highly favored, the 
Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women!" Such an 
address, from so exalted a being, greatly alarmed the meek and 
humble virgin, to allay whose fear, and encourage whose heart, 
the angel related, in most rapturous terms, the subject of his 
embassy, which was to assure her, that she was chosen by God 
to the greatest honor which could be conferred on a mortal, and 
which would pepetuate her memory; an honor no less than that 
of being mother of the promised and long-expected Messiah, who 



THE ANNUNCIATION. 

[Page 51.] 




" And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, 
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing which 
shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." — Luke i. 35. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



5) 



upon earth shall be called Jesus, because he should save his 
people from their sins, be the restorer of human nature, and the 
procuring cause of eternal bliss to sinners, who had forfeited the 
favor, and incurred the resentment, of an offended God: that 
this divine person was to be considered as the Son of the most 
high God; to whom should be given by his Almighty Father the 
throne of David his earthly father, on which he should preside, 
and which, being the whole church of Christ, the house of Jacob, 
the spiritual Israel, or the kingdom of the Messiah, should con- 
tinue for ever and ever. 

The astonished virgin, unmindful, likewise, that Isaiah had 
long since prophesied, " That a virgin should conceive, and bear 
a son," thought her virginity an insurmountable barrier to the 
fulfillment of the prophecy, especially as such an event had never 
occurred since the creation of the world, and therefore required 
of the angel an explanation of the manner in which such a cir- 
cumstance could be effected. 

This desire by no means implies her not remembering, that 
with God all things were possible, but only serves to prove the 
weakness of her apprehension on the one hand, or her diffidence 
and sense of her own unworthiness on the other. 

The angel, therefore, perceiving the goodness of her dispo- 
sition, notwithstanding some little proof of human weakness, 
and shortness of sight, vouchsafed an immediate answer to her 
inquiry, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power 
of the Highest shall cover thee;" or, in other words, this mirac- 
ulous event shall be brought about by the aid of the Holy Spirit, 
and wonderful exertion of the power of the Most High. As thy 
conception is effected by the immediate interposition of the Holy 
Ghost, " Therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee, 
shall be called the Son of God." To confirm her faith in the 
glorious message, the heavenly messenger observed to her, that 
her cousin Elizabeth, notwithstanding her advanced years, and 
reputed barrenness, was above six months pregnant, assigning 
this incontestable argument for the miraculous incident, "For 
with God nothing shall be impossible." 

This reply not only removed all her doubts and fears, but 
filled her with inexpressible joy, so that she even anticipated the 
promised felicity ; for she, with the rest of the daughters of Jacob, 
had long indulged a hope of being selected by God to be the 
honored mother of the Saviour of Israel; and therefore, on her 
being assured that such happiness was destined her by the Great 
Disposer of all events, she thus expressed her reliance on the ful- 
fillment of the Divine promise, and perfect acquiescence in the 
pleasure of the Almighty: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord! 
be it unto me according to thy word." 

7 



52 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The angel had no sooner departed, than Mary set out for the 
mountainous country of Judea, though at a very remote distance 
from Nazareth, in order to rejoice with her cousin Elizabeth in 
the joyful news she had received from the angel concerning her. 
The rapture and delight which filled the minds of Mary and 
Elizabeth, on the occasion of this salutation, can alone be ex- 
pressed from the affecting description recorded by the evangelist 
Luke, who is peculiar for the beauty of his style, and elegance 
of his expressions. 

That evangelist writes, that the salutation of Mary had such 
an effect upon Elizabeth, that on hearing the miraculous event 
which had befallen the virgin, the babe leaped within her, and 
that she, being inspired with a holy delight on the approaching 
prospect of the nativity of her Saviour, exclaimed with rhapsody, 
"And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should 
come to me?" Luke i. 43. Nor did her ecstacy cease with this 
token of humility and joy on the important event, in the ardor 
of which she evinced that prophetic influence, which, while it 
amazed the blessed virgin, could not fail of establishing her belief 
in what the angel had foretold; for she repeated the very words 
expressed by the angel, in his salutation of the holy virgin, 
"Blessed art thou among women;'* together with a quotation from 
the Psalms, " and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." 

For as Mary conceived the seed long promised and earnestly 
desired, the seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to 
be blessed, he could not but be blessed himself, according to the 
words of the psalmist: "His name shall continue as long as the 
sun, and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him 
blessed." The happy virgin, catching the holy flame from the 
aged Elizabeth, broke out into an humble acknowledgment of 
her unworthiness, and the wonderful grace of the Almighty, in 
appointing her to the exalted honor of bearing in her womb the 
Redeemer of Israel, in those known words, "My soul doth mag- 
nify the Lord," &c. 

Thus having, by this visit, confirmed herself in the belief of 
the prediction of the angel Gabriel, when the period of Eliza- 
beth's pregnancy approached, she returned to Nazareth, having 
resided in Judea about three months. 

Soon after the departure of Mary, Elizabeth brought forth her 
son, the appointed harbinger of the King of Glory: and on the 
eighth day after his birth, according to the Judaical custom, he 
was circumcised, and called, according to the appointment of the 
angel, John, alluding in the Hebrew tongue, to the gracious dis- 
play of the wisdom and goodness God was about to manifest to 
the world, by the spreading of the Gospel of his Son, of whom 
this John was the appointed forerunner. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



53 



The promise being thus fulfilled, the aged priest was restored 
to his speech, and immediately broke out into praise and rap- 
ture at the marvellous works of God, in strains which aston- 
ished all round him. This surprising event greatly alarmed 
the people of the adjacent country, who were divided in their 
opinions concerning a child, whose birth was attended with so 
many extraordinary circumstances. Indeed, these incidents 
were worthy of general admiration; that he who was to be the 
forerunner of the mighty Saviour of Israel, should not make 
his entrance on life in an obscure and common manner, but with 
particular tokens of the favor of heaven, in order to attract the 
observation of his countrymen, and excite their attention to that 
ministry which he was called to by God, even the preparation of 
the people for the reception of the Messiah, who was shortly to 
appear in the flesh. 

As Joseph had abstained from all matrimonial intercourse 
with his wife, he was not a little alarmed, when, shortly after 
her return to Nazareth, she discovered evident signs of preg- 
nancy; nay, so far was he wrought on by this circumstance, 
that he absolutely resolved on a dissolution of the marriage; 
but previous to such a rigorous procedure, questioning her con- 
cerning the same, she, to wipe off so foul an aspersion, minutely 
related to him the particulars of the vision from the angel, and 
the extraordinary event that had befallen Zacharias and Eliza- 
beth. 

Notwithstanding this ingenuous declaration, Joseph's suspi- 
cions continued, and suggested to him, that this might be a 
device concerted by the friends of Mary, to exempt her from 
that disgrace, which must attend a divorce on such pretence; 
however, he resolved to execute his purpose as privately as pos- 
sible, and without assigning the cause of the same, which under 
their constitution, would have subjected her to the penalty of 
death. While he was thus ruminating on this interesting event, 
he was overtaken with a pleasing slumber, and received a com- 
munication from above, which fully revealed the cause and man- 
ner of Mary's pregnancy, dispelled his doubts, and encouraged 
him to take home his falsely-suspected spouse; " Joseph, thou son 
of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that 
which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost." 

The pious Joseph complied with the voice of heaven most 
cheerfully; for no sooner did the morning dawn appear, than he 
arose from his couch, and obeyed the commands of the Most 
High, by relating to his wife his being assured of her innocence, 
and immediately restored her to former favor. 

Thus was fulfilled that which was foretold by the prophets; 
and particularly the prediction of Isaiah which imported that a 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



54 



virgin should bring forth a son — " Behold, a virgin shall conceive 
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," (Isaiah vii. 14.) 
which being interpreted, is God with us. 



CHAPTER II. 

General decree for taxation published. — The Birth of Christ. — Decla- 
ration of the same to the Shepherds. — Circumcision, and presenta- 
tion of Christ in the Temple. — The Wise Men of the East wor- 
ship the Holy Child. — Flight of Joseph into Egypt. — Massacre of 
Infants at Bethlehem. — Death of Herod. — Return of Joseph out of 
Egypt. 

Augustus Cesar, the Roman Emperor, having at this time, 
issued an edict for a general taxation on all the nations, cities, 
and towns, subject to the empire, King Herod, in consequence 
of that decree, commanded all under his government to muster 
in the city of his people, or place of his descent, that an estimate 
might be taken of their persons and effects. Pursuant to this 
order, Joseph and Mary, as descendants from the line of David, 
departed from Nazareth where they then resided, and came to 
Bethlehem, a city of Judea, the place of the nativity of David 
and his ancestors. 

So numerous were the people that rapaired to this place, on 
account of the general decree, that every dwelling was occupied: 
and Joseph and Mary, though they could not depart thence till 
after the taxation, were forced to take up their residence in an 
humble stable, the spot in which it pleased the Divine Wisdom, 
should be born the Lord of Life and Glory, who, as a perfect 
example of humility to all his followers, was to make his entrance 
into, and his exit out of, the lower world, in a very mean and 
humble manner. 

In this lowly tenement, the blessed virgin brought forth her 
first-born godlike Son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and 
laid him (having no better place) in a manger. 

It is remarkable that all the generations of the intervening 
spaces, between three of the most remarkable periods, relative 
to the house of David, and the birth of our blessed Saviour, are 
exactly the same; for the Evangelist Matthew informs us, that 
all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen gene- 
rations, and from David unto the Babylonish captivity are four- 
teen generations; and from the Babylonish captivity unto the 
birth of Christ, are also fourteen generations. The same Evan- 
gelist also traces his genealogy from Abraham, and proves his 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



55 



direct lineal descent from that father.- of the faithful, through the 
line of David, from race to race, to that of the humble virgin and 
the aged Joseph. But to return to the immediate subject of our 
history. 

The manner and place of our Lord's birth certainly demand 
our highest admiration and wonder, as a striking display of wis- 
dom, both in the direction and accomplishment of the will of his 
heavenly Father. Considered in his Divine nature, heaven is 
the habitation of his seat, and the earth is his footstool ; consid- 
ered in his human nature, he is humbled beneath all, being con- 
fined within the narrow limits of a manger! Though as the Son 
of God, he is "the brightness of his Father's glory, the express 
image of his person," and his "throne is for ever and ever!" as 
the son of man, O wondrous condescension! he is wrapped in 
the meanest swaddling clothes ; and as man, he takes up his habi- 
tation with the beasts of the field. In fine, let us adore his grace 
and love in divesting himself of those glories, for a time, which 
he enjoyed at the right hand of his Father, assuming our nature, 
and that in its humblest state, in order to raise us to that degree 
of glory and happiness, which, by our apostacy from God, we 
had justly forfeited; exulting with the prophet, "Sing O heavens, 
and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, 
for the Lord hath comforted his people." 

But the humble manner in which the blessed Jesus made his 
appearance in the world, did not long eclipse the glory of his 
descent; a heavenly messenger being dispatched from above to 
apprize mankind of their Saviour's incarnation. It pleased the 
wise Disposer of all things, by this holy angel first to make 
known to some honest shepherds, who were watching their flocks 
by night, in the neighboring fields, the birth of the long-promised, 
long-expected Messiah. The radiance which shone around 
them, terrified the astonished peasants; but to dissipate their 
fears, and confirm their joys, the divine messenger interposed, 
and thus addressed them: "Fear not; for behold, I bring you 
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto 
you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is 
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall 
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." 
Luke, ii. 10, &c. 

The glorious news was no sooner proclaimed, than a number 
of the celestial choir were heard to resound the praises of the 
Almighty, for this transcendent display of his goodness to sinful 
men: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of 
the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." Trans- 
ported with the happy tidings of the birth of the Redeemer of 
Israel, the angel no sooner departed, than the shepherds hastened 



56 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to Bethlehem, in quest of the babe, whom, according to the infor- 
mation of the sacred missionary, they found wrapt in swaddling 
clothes, and lying in a manger. This event, so exactly confor- 
mable to the angel's prediction, equally delighted and amazed 
them; nor could they conceal the purport of his mission, but 
published abroad all they had seen and heard. 

Having viewed with praise and wonder their long-expected 
Saviour, and offered their grateful praises to God, for the mani- 
festation of his goodness to mankind, they departed with hearts 
rilled with love and gratitude, still glorifying the Almighty Pa- 
rent of universal nature. 

After the expiration of eight days from the birth of the holy 
infant, he was circumcised according to the Mosaic institution. 
The blessed Redeemer passed through this ceremony, not that 
he stood in any necessity of conforming to laws of any kind, 
being the supreme lawgiver, with respect to his exalted nature; 
but as, considered in his humble state, "he was born of a woman, 
made under the law," and came according to his own declara- 
tion, "to fulfill all righteousness," it was requisite he should 
conform to that custom, which characterized the Jewish nation, 
and was one of the principal injunctions of the Mosaic law, under 
which he was born ; in order to fulfill all that is spoken of him 
in the scriptures. 

As a further reason for our Lord's compliance with this Jew- 
ish institution, we may urge the propriety of his finishing the 
former dispensation, by an exact adherence to its rules, as he 
was about to establish another, and much better, which could 
not be effected more fully, than by conforming to that sacra- 
ment, which was of divine injunction, and indispensably requisite 
to admission into the former. 

As the same institution also required that every first-born son, 
without any regard to circumstance or family, should be presen- 
ted to the Lord, in the temple, by delivering him into the 
hands of the priest, and paying five shekels, together with an 
offering, which, from the poorer sort, consisted of a pair of tur- 
tle-doves, or two young pigeons; a ceremony in commemora- 
tion of the divine mercy in sparing the first-born in Jsrael, when 
those of Egypt, both men and beasts were destroyed; his pa- 
rents having tarried at Bethlehem till the days of Mary's purifi- 
cation were fully accomplished, brought the child Jesus to Jeru- 
salem, and there presented him in the temple to the Lord, in the 
manner just described, with the offering allowed to the poorer 
sort of people; a repeated instance of the exact obedience of the 
immaculate Jesus to the ceremonial law, as well as the poverty 
of his parents, though descended from a royal house. 

During the presentation of the holy infant, there enured the 
temple a pious and venerable old man, named Simeon, who, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



57 



with all the devout, had " waited day and night for the conso- 
lation of Israel," and to whom it had been revealed by the spirit 
of truth, that he should not depart this mortal life, till he had 
seen the Lord of life and salvation. 

Accordingly it was signified to him by the Holy Ghost, at 
whose instance he came at the precise time into the temple, that 
the child there presented was the long-expected Messiah, even 
the Redeemer of Israel. In an ecstacy of joy he embraced the 
heavenly infant in his arms, and broke out into this rhapsody: 
" Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according 
to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation: which 
thou hast prepared before the face of all people: a light to 
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." Luke 
ii. 29, &c. 

The exultation of Simeon astonished the parents of our Lord ; 
not as unworthy the divine subject of it, to which are due strains 
superior to men or angels, but as evincing the old man's certain 
knowledge that the child was the promised Messiah, though he 
was an absolute stranger. But their surprise was soon removed 
by Simeon saying unto Mary his mother: "Behold, this child 
is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel;" or, in 
other words, this is the stumbling-block and rock of offence, 
which it was long foretold by God should be laid in Zion, and 
which should occasion the fall of many in Israel; for through the 
humble manner of his birth, and his abject state upon earth, he 
became despised and rejected of men; yet he is set for the rising 
again of many, who shall rely on his merits, and submit to his 
government. 

A certain good prophetess, called Anna, who had a long 
time waited for the redemption of Israel, entering the temple 
at the instant in which Simeon exulted in the birth of the hea- 
venly infant, and finding that he was the promised Messiah, like- 
wise joined with him in praising God, and went forth and de- 
clared the glad tidings of salvation to all the faithful in these 
parts. 

Having, in every respect, complied with the ceremonies and 
rites contained in the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary, with 
the child Jesus, entered into Galilee, to their own city Na- 
zareth, but did not long abide there; for having adjusted their 
affairs, they returned again to Bethlehem, the place of our 
Lord's nativity. 

This step seems to have been pursued in consequence of their 
opinion, that it was necessary in order to his being acknowledg- 
ed the Messiah sent by God, that he should reside, some time, 
in the place of his birth. Whatever was their motive for re- 
moval, it was evident from scripture, that while they were 
in Bethlehem with their son, certain eastern philosophers, cal- 



58 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



led Magi, or Wise Men, came in consequence of the appear- 
ance they had seen, to Jerusalem, and inquired for the King 
of the Jews; declaring they had seen his star in their own 
quarter, and were come to pay him the adorations due to his 
dignity. 

Some men, too wise to admit of the evidences from Revela- 
tion, have sceptically inquired, how these eastern Magi could 
arrive at any knowledge that the Jews expected the Messiah; 
and that, therefore, on the appearance of this new star in the 
firmament, how they should apprehend it pointed out the birth 
of the great Redeemer of Israel? The learned assertors of the 
Christian cause, in answer to these queries, observe, that an 
opinion of the approach of the Messiah's kingdom had long pre- 
vailed all over the east; nay, this is declared in profane history 
by Suetonius, Tacitus, and others. 

The reason of this prevailing opinion is very obvious. The 
Jews conceived mighty expectations of the Messiah, from the 
many prophecies concerning him recorded in their own lan- 
guage; and the Arabians, from the prophecies to the same im- 
port made to Abraham; it being certain that those people 
retained traditional knowledge of this promise, from the words 
of Balaam, who was an Arabian prophet: " There shall come 
a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel," 
&c, which every impartial reader must acknowledge rather 
refers to the appearance of the Messiah, than any other inci- 
dent whatever. 

The other eastern nations derived their expectations of the 
Messiah from their commercial connexions with the Jews and 
Arabians, but more especially from the Jews, who being scat- 
tered over the whole country of the East, spread their religion 
wherever they went, which occasioned several Roman historians 
to take notice of the prevalence of that opinion. 

Nay, the expectation of the Messiah being born in Judea, 
was strongly impressed on the minds of the followers of Zoroas- 
ter, who reformed the religion of the Persians, being a servant 
to the prophet Daniel, and particularly favored with revelations 
concerning the appearance of the Messiah. 

From these considerations, it evidently appears that this opin- 
ion prevailed throughout the East; and that the Magi might 
with great reason, on the appearance of the star, repair to Jeru- 
salem in quest of the promised Saviour of Israel. 

But to leave this subject, as not immediately appertaining to 
our purpose. The whole city of Jerusalem was alarmed at the 
unexpected arrival of the Eastern Magi; an event which much 
perplexed the tyrant Herod, whose ambitious mind maintained 
the utmost aversion to the very thought of a rival or a competi- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



59 



tor, and consequently could not brook a report that favored the 
news of the birth of the King of the Jews. 

Disguising, however, his sentiments, he received the Magi 
with seeming respect, attended to the design of their errand 
with affected complacency, and to gratify their curiosity, sum- 
moned a general council, and demanded of them, Where Christ 
should be born? The council kept him not long in suspense, 
for well remembering that the prophets had particularly foretold 
the place of his birth, they replied to the demand of their mon- 
arch, "In Bethlehem of Juda;" and to confirm their answer, 
cited prophetic authority: "And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of 
Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee 
shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel." Matt, 
ii. 6. The tyrant king, in consequence of the reply from the 
supreme council of the nation, directed the Magi to Bethlehem, 
as the place according to ancient prophecy, designed for the 
honor of Christ's nativity, earnestly entreating them at the 
same time, immediately on finding out the child, to send him 
word, that he might repair thither, and pay his adoration to 
him also. 

But this was mere pretence, and vile hypocrisy; for so far 
was Herod from entertaining any religious regard for the infant 
Jesus, that he vowed in his heart to destroy him as soon as he 
should be found; looking on him as designed for a temporal 
prince, who would expel him, or his descendants, from the 
throne of Judea, instead of a prince whose kingdom was wholly 
spiritual, and whose throne was not to be established upon earth, 
but in the heavenly Jerusalem. 

We cannot have a more convincing evidence of the divinity 
of our Saviour's mission, than his miraculous preservation from 
the designs of the ambitious Herod. The tyrant, in this case, 
acted with the utmost subtilty; he declined accompanying the 
wise men in person; nor did he even send attendants with them, 
who, under the guise of honoring them, might have secretly 
informed him of the abode of the Messiah. 

However, the Magi having obtained the intelligence they 
sought in Jerusalem, set forward, under the guidance of the 
same star that conducted them from their own country, but 
had left them on their arrival in Judea, which was the cause 
of their directing their course to the capital, in order to seek 
that information, which, by the desertion of the star became 
requisite. Thus it appears the design of the Almighty, in di- 
recting the Eastern Magi to the capital of Judea, was, that 
the whole nation might be made acquainted with the cause 
of their journey. 

Accordingly, they had no sooner proceeded from Jerusalem 
on their way to Bethlehem, than their kind conductor again 

8 



60 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



appeared, went before them to the very city, and fixed on the 
habitation of the heavenly infant. Guided by this celestial 
conductor, they entered the house, and prostrating themselves 
at the sacred feet of their spiritual king, presented him with gifts 
of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Having thus accomplished 
the design of the expedition, they proposed, according to pro- 
mise, returning to Jerusalem; but being diverted from that 
intention by a dream, in which they were warned by God of 
Herod's design, they pursued another course, towards their own 
country, and by those means defeated his malicious purpose. 

But it is natural and reasonable to suppose, that the end 
of the divine wisdom, in directing these Eastern Magi to the 
kingdom of Judea to worship the child Jesus, was not merely 
to gratify the curiosity of the wise men, because the event 
promoted many other very important designs, some of which 
we shall mention. 

It proved to succeeding ages, the great expectation the Gen- 
tiles formed of the appearance of the Messiah, and consequently 
established the truth of those prophecies which related to that 
event, as well as excited in the minds of men the most sanguine 
hopes, and longing desires. 

As these Magi doubtless reported, on their return to their 
own countrymen, the particulars they had heard and seen in the 
kingdom of Judea, relative to the Messiah, such report must 
certainly have promoted the belief of the gospel in those parts, 
when afterwards preached there by the apostles. The expedi- 
tion of the wise men was the cause of the answer of the Sanhe- 
drim, in which it was unanimously declared to be the opinion 
of all the Jewish Rabbis then living, that according to ancient 
prophecies, Bethlehem was the place appointed by the Almighty 
to give birth to the promised Messiah. 

It also contributed to another valuable purpose, in that the of- 
ferings of the wise men procured a subsistence for the holy fam- 
ily in Egypt, whither they were soon after warned to fly, in or- 
der to escape the vengeance of the enraged king; for no sooner 
had the wise men departed from Bethlehem, than Joseph was 
warned by a heavenly messenger, of the barbarous purpose of 
Herod, and commanded to flee into Egypt with the young child 
and his mother. 

Joseph, in obedience to the Almighty's command, rose that 
very night, and fled into Egypt; "and was there until the death 
of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the 
Lord, by the prophet; Out of Egypt have I called my Son." 
This prophecy, which is quoted from Hosea, seems originally 
to refer to the Israelites; though the Evangelist's reference will 
be amply justified, by considering that the Egyptian captivity 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



69 



parts of our Saviour's life, which would have swelled their 
gospels to an enormous bulk, fit only for the perusal of the 
studious, and those persons who had much vacant time ; whereas 
the four Gospels, as they are written, make only a small volume,, 
which is convenient for carriage, for reading, for the memory 
to retain; as well as adapted by the plainness of its style, to the 
meanest capacities ; notwithstanding which, they contain all the 
important transactions of our Saviour's life, such as those which 
relate to his mediatorial office, the design of his incarnation, 
which was to teach us those things that belong to our eternal 
peace and happiness : to instruct us in his heavenly doctrines, as 
our prophet; to offer himself a sacrifice upon the cross, as our 
priest; and to burst the chains of death, and triumphantly ascend 
into heaven, as king, or head, of his church. 

The omissions, therefore, can be of no real consequence, since, 
" These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,, 
the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through 
his name." 

During the obscure state of our blessed Redeemer at Nazareth, 
the Emperor Augustus died in Campania, after a long reign, of 
near forty years, to the general regret of the whole Roman em- 
pire. He was succeeded by Tiberius, his step-son, a prince of 
very different temper of mind from his predecessor. This em- 
peror, in the second year of his reign, recalled Rufus from the 
government of Judea, and sent Valerius Gracchus to succeed 
him. After reigning eleven years, Gracchus was recalled and 
succeeded by Pontius Pilate, a person resembling in disposition 
his master Tiberius, who was malicious, cruel and covetous. 

Soon after Pontius Pilate was appointed to the government of 
Judea, John the Baptist began to open his commission for pre- 
paring our Saviour's way before him, according as was appointed, 
" The baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." 

It appears, from the accounts of the Evangelists, that he dwelt 
in the desert till the time of his public ministry, resembling the 
ancient prophet Elijah in the meanness of his clothing, and the 
plainness of his diet. His dress was composed of camel's hair, 
his food the spontaneous production of the wilderness, such as 
locusts and wild honey, and his drink the pure water of some 
crystal spring. His course of life was, indeed, admirably adapted 
to the doctrine of repentance, which he preached, as well as to 
engage the attention of his hearers; so that it appears highly 
reasonable, that those people who awaited the coming of the 
Messiah with earnest expectation, should flock to him, anxious to 
hear what he had to deliver concerning him. 

He proved very successful in his ministry, as he enforced the 
doctrine of repentance, because the kingdom of heaven was at 
hand; persons of all degrees and professions flocked to him, 



70 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



confessed their sins, were baptized in Jordan, and submitted to 
whatever the prophet prescribed as necessary to obtain an in- 
heritance in that kingdom, the approach of which he came to 
declare. Amongst his converts were many of the pharisaical 
tribe, some of whom confessed their sins, and were likewise bap- 
tized in Jordan. 

The conversion of the Pharisees surprised the Baptist, know- 
ing that they maintained an high opinion of their own sanctity, 
for which reason it was very astonishing that they should express 
any desire of obtaining a remission of their sins. In short, he 
was much surprised to find the whole nation so affected by his 
threatenings, especially as he knew they expected salvation on 
account of their being of the seed of Abraham, a conceit which 
they greatly cherished, and which they seem to have derived 
from a misrepresentation of the following passage: "Thus saith 
the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the or- 
dinances of the moon, and the stars for a light by night; who 
divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of 
Hosts is his flame. If those ordinances depart from before me, 
saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being 
a nation before me, for ever. Thus saith the Lord, if the heaven 
above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched 
out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel, for all that 
they have done, saith the Lord." 

But the Baptist, to curb their arrogance, called them the 
"offspring of vipers," instead of the children of Abraham; per- 
haps the Pharisees and Sadducees applied to John for Baptism, 
thinking by that means to avoid the danger they might incur, 
from being the avowed enemies of the Messiah, whom they 
expected to come in all the pomp of royalty, and to maintain his 
superiority by force of arms. 

The Baptist, who was no stranger to those hypocritical sects, 
well knowing their application to him arose from sinister views, 
severely reprimanded them in general : " O generation of vipers, 
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring 
forth fruits worthy of repentance." O deceivers, hypocrites, 
whence have you obtained knowledge of the approaching event 
I am destined, by God, to make known? Whence have you a 
sense of the impending judgment of the Almighty? I have 
plainly told you the proper method of avoiding it, is by a sincere 
repentance, which can only be evinced by the conformity of the 
heart and life to the word and will of God. — " And begin not to 
say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father; for I say 
unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto 
Abraham." Deceive not yourselves with a vain presumption 
that eternal blessings are yours, merely on the score of your line- 
al descent from Abraham: such pretence will avail you nothing; 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



71 



for to partake of the promises made to that father of the faithful 
alone, spiritually considered, you must show forth some resem- 
blance of his faith and piety. 

The Baptist, by this plain but honest declaration, at once set 
at naught the towering expectations of this hypocritical tribe, 
by showing them that God respected the heart alone, and that 
all their pretences to descent, ceremonies, and other outward 
parade, was of no avail with him, who tried the heart and 
searched the reins of the children of men. 

He went farther, and assured them, that conviction and con- 
fession of sin were not sufficient; no, nor even a promise to for- 
sake it, but that there must be a speedy and actual putting it 
into practice. " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." Delay not this important work, for the judgments of the 
Almighty are at hand; therefore, if you continue in your sins, 
impending ruin will certainly fall upon you. 

Nothing could be more sincere, nothing better calculated, than 
this doctrine of the forerunner of the blessed Jesus ; it struck at 
the very root of the Jewish prejudices, which induced too many 
of them vainly to rely upon outward rites and ceremonies, pray- 
ers, fasting, &c. ; which, if not performed with a proper spirit, 
and from proper views, were an abomination to an holy God. 

Nor did his conduct less reprove the pride and hypocrisy of 
the Scribes and Pharisees, than his doctrine; for whereas those 
upstart people used to shun the converse of the Publicans, and 
meaner sort, and would rarely deign to give them instruction, 
the humble Baptist received their applications in the most sub- 
missive manner, and preached to them the absolute necessity of 
faith, repentance, and obedience. 

Indeed, throughout the whole of his ministration, he happily 
adapted his discourses to the circumstances and capacities of the 
various people he addressed; and took every pious means to pre- 
pare them for the reception of the promised Messiah, who was 
shortly to appear amongst them, in the glorious character of 
Saviour and Redeemer of Israel. 

Thus, by a life of inflexible virtue, discourses nervous and pa- 
thetic, exhortations sincere and fervent, and rebukes honest and 
courageous, the Baptist became renowned throughout the region 
of Judea. 

Such was the admiration of the people at his life and doctrine, 
that from the vision of his father Zacharias in the temple, the 
arrival of the Magi at Jerusalem, the prophecies of Simeon, cir- 
cumstances recent in their memories, they began to conjecture 
that John might be the promised Messiah, and were even ready 
to pronounce him the Redeemer of Israel. So that had he as- 
pired to worldly dignity, he might, for a time, have shone in all 
the grandeur of human pomp, and claimed a regard superior to 



n 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



any of the sons of men. But, pious in principle, and humble in 
heart, he could not arrogate honors of which he was conscious 
of his unworthiness ; and therefore honestly undeceived his nu- 
merous followers, by assuring them, that so far from being the 
glorious person promised, he was only his forerunner, and that 
such was his own inferiority, that he was unworthy of doing his 
most menial offices. "I indeed baptize you with water: but one 
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not wor- 
thy to unloose." Luke iii. 16. 

During the time of the Baptist's continuance at Bethabara. 
the blessed Jesus left his retirement at Nazareth, and previous to 
his public ministry, repaired to the banks of the river Jordan, 
where John was executing his commission from above, in order 
to be there baptized by him. We cannot impute this conduct of 
our Lord, to any necessity there was for his conforming to the in- 
stitution of baptism, for purity needs not cleansing; it is therefore 
evident, that his motive was to add a sanction to that ordinance 
for ever after appointed to be the initiating right of Christianity — 
" Go, baptize all nations," &c. 

It appears that John immediately, as it were by a prophetic 
revelation, knew the Saviour of the world ; for we find, from the 
Evangelist, that he acknowledged his superiority, and declined 
the office; "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou 
to me?" Our Lord's answer, though short, is very full and ex- 
pressive; "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill 
all righteousness." As if he had said, Regard not the precedence, 
at this time, but perform thy office ; for it is necessary that we 
should, in the minutest point, conform to the Divine will, by 
which this institution is enjoined. 

This remonstrance removed the objections of John, and he 
baptized the immaculate Jesus in the river Jordan, in the pre- 
sence of numerous spectators. 

When the ceremony was performed, as he needed not the in- 
structions usually given on the occasion, he went up straightway 
out of the water, and kneeling on the bank of the river, fer- 
vently addressed his Almighty Father, for an abundant effusion 
of his Holy Spirit, as he was now entering on his public ministry, 
the prelude of his important mission, the end of which was the 
salvation of mankind. 

His prayer was heard, his request was granted; and an imme- 
diate attestation of the divine pleasure given by a visible ray of 
glory around him, and an audible voice proceeding from the 
Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, and pronouncing these words, 
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:" dis- 
tinguishing his peculiar approbation of the blessed Jesus, by the 
epithet beloved, as well as his standing in that relation to him 
in a manner nearer than any of the human race, who are 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



73 



called in common, the sons of men. This voice resembled not 
any human sound; but was loud and awful, like the thunders 
of heaven, in order to strike with reverence the surrounding 
multitude, and publicly declare the holy mission of the promi- 
sed Messiah. 

The blessed Jesus was called, in the Old Testament, the Son 
of God, but was on this occasion, declared by the Almighty 
himself, to be the long-expected deliverer of Israel. Thus, all 
who were present at this marvellous descent of the Holy Spirit, 
were amply convinced of the divine mission of our blessed Lord 
by an infallible testimony from above: this being "the star that 
was to come out of Jacob, and the sceptre that was to rise out 
of Israel ;" the Shiloh foretold by the patriarch Jacob ; the Great 
Prophet, by Moses; the Holy One, by David; the Prince of Peace, 
by Isaiah; and the Son of Man, 

But this remarkable event tended much more to the glory of 
the Messiah, than all those prophecies; as it was, in some mea- 
sure, a real display of what they could only picture in the dark. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Commencement of our Saviour's ministry* — His temptation in the 
wilderness. — Deputation of the Sanhedrim to John the Baptist* — 
First miracle wrought by the blessed Jesus, 

The great Redeemer having thus complied with the institu- 
tion of baptism, and received a most convincing testimony of 
his heavenly Father's approbation, by the miraculous descent and 
effusion of the Holy Ghost upon him while praying on the banks 
of Jordan, in the presence of a multitude of spectators, entered 
on his public ministry, at the age of thirty years, according to 
the custom of the priests among the Jews. 

It was apprehended by the people, that, as he had just begun 
his public office, he would repair to Jerusalem, the seat of power 
and grandeur, in order to display to the mighty and the learned, 
his miraculous abilities, and effulgent glories. 

But, averse to human parade, the heavenly-minded Jesus pre- 
ferred solitude to the noise and hurry of mortal life: he there- 
fore retired into the wilderness, in order to prepare himself, by 
fasting, meditation, and prayer, and sustaining temptation, for 
the important work on which he was entering — the salvation of 
mankind. 

To promote this grand design, the Evangelists write, that this 
retirement into the wilderness was in consequence of the imme- 



74 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



diate direction of the Divine Spirit. Though solitude itself is 
melancholy, the blessed Jesus added to the dismal scene, by re- 
tiring on a barren spot, surrounded by high and craggy moun- 
tains, and forming a dark and gloomy chaos. 

In this wild and dreary situation the great Redeemer, as 
Moses and Elijah had done before him, fasted forty days and 
forty nights, maintained an incessant communion with Ins hea- 
venly Father, digested the doctrine he was about to deliver, and 
the obedience he came to perform; and by a total abstinence 
from food for forty days and forty nights, evinced the divinity 
of his mission, or, in other words, proved that he was " a teacher 
from God." But the melancholy solitude of a desert, and the 
extremes of hunger and thirst, were but a small part of our 
Saviours sufferings in the wilderness: Satan, that implacable 
foe to mankind, was permitted to buffet him with the most insi- 
nuating wiles, and assail him with the most alluring temptations, 
in order to attempt the defeat of heaven's most gracious designs, 
and keep mankind under the dreadful dominion of sin and 
death. 

The enemies of revelation have not failed to represent this 
event in a most ludicrous manner: if any, therefore, should de- 
mand why God permitted his only Son, the Saviour of the world, 
to be tempted by the devil, whose power was deemed to be 
restrained, we reply as follows: — One cause of the Redeemer's 
being suffered to, be tempted was, that he, being personally ac- 
quainted with the wiles of Satan, might become a faithful and 
compassionate high priest, know how to succor his people in 
time of adversity, and pity them when they fell into tempta- 
tions. 

That in order to be a shining pattern of every virtue, and also 
a wise and valiant general, the blessed Redeemer underwent all 
the difficulties and trials attending his service, that we, being 
animated by his glorious example, might not sink under the 
pressure and troubles which God, for our good, should be pleased 
to lay upon us. 

The Saviour of the world hath not only been exposed to 
poverty and ridicule, but also to the most trying temptations of 
Satan; that as the captain of our salvation has undergone the 
same, we ought not to faint when we are tempted, but, like him, 
be able to withstand the fiery darts of the devil. 

It doubtless appears highly proper, in order that our blessed 
Lord and Master might both enter upon, and prosecute his 
ministry, with more glory to himself, and advantage to mankind, 
that he should previously overcome the most subtle arts of that 
deceiver, who, under the mask of the serpent, seduced our first 
parents, and involved them and their posterity in one common 
ruin. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



75 



The peculiar devices used by the old serpent to tempt the Son 
of God, during the time of his fasting, are not recorded in holy 
writ, and consequently cannot be ascertained. 

But at the expiration of the forty days, when the blessed Jesus 
had endured the keenest hunger, the tempter, to make proof of 
the divinity of his mission, insolently demanded, why he bore 
the sensations of hunger, since, if he was the Son of God, he 
must have power to change even the stones of that dreary wil- 
derness into bread; and by so marvellous a transmutation, he 
might have the satisfaction of knowing the truth of what was 
said concerning him at his baptism. 

But our blessed Saviour repelled this device, by citing the 
words of Moses, which implied, that God, whenever it seemed 
good in his sight, could, by extraordinary means, provide for the 
support of the human race. "Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word of God." Luke iv. 4. 

Satan, being defeated in this effort, took him to the top of a 
very high mountain, and thinking to work upon him by another 
artifice, showed him a bright view of all the kingdoms of the 
world, with their alluring glories, promising him universal empire 
over the whole, if he would bow down and yield to him the 
honor of the benefaction. 

But observe his accursed pride and arrogance, in promising 
that which is the gift of God alone, universal empire over the 
earth; and requiring what was due to none but the Supreme 
religious homage. This blasphemy, as well as insolence, incited 
the blessed Jesus to exert his divine authority, and command 
him, in a peremptory manner, to desist, citing this special injunc- 
tion from sacred writ, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 
and him only shalt thou serve." Thus repelled, he repeated 
the attempt, and having taken our Lord to Jerusalem, placed 
him on the pinnacle of the temple, and by a taunt of insolence, 
urged him to prove the truth of his mission, by casting himself 
down from thence, citing, as an encouragement for him to com- 
ply with his desire, a text from the Psalms — "If thou be the Son 
of God cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his 
angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall 
bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a 
stone.', Matt, iv. 6. But our Saviour soon baffled this attempt, 
by another apt quotation from scripture — " Thou shalt not tempt 
the Lord thy God." Matt. iv. 7. Thou shalt not provoke the 
Lord, either by disobeying his command, or by an impertinent 
curiosity to know more concerning his mind and will, than he is 
pleased to reveal. 

Thus baffled in all his art and devices, by the wisdom and 
power of the Son of God, he departed from him, and an host of 
celestial spirits, dispatched from the regions of bliss, came and 



76 



LIFE OF CHRIST, t 



ministered refreshment to our Saviour, after his victory over the 
great enemy and deceiver of mankind. 

Hence, notwithstanding the ridicule of the infidel, Christians 
may derive great encouragement to fight manfully against the 
flesh, the world, and the devil, under the banner of the great 
Captain of their salvation, who is ever ready to supply them 
with spiritual armor to sustain the combat with that inveterate 
and subtle foe, whose devices he has experienced, being in every 
respect tempted like them. 

During the time of our Saviour's retirement in the wilderness, 
his faithful harbinger, the Baptist, being assured, from the mira- 
culous descent, of the Holy Spirit, and other concurring testi- 
monies, that Jesus was the promised and long-expected Messiah, 
continued publishing his mission to the multitude; so that the 
rulers in Jerusalem received information of the surprising events 
that had happened in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, before they 
saw the blessed Jesus, in confirmation of whose mission and doc- 
trine they were effected. 

Prompted by curiosity, they dispatched a deputation of 
Priests and Levites to the Baptist, to demand of him, who this 
wondrous person was; whether he was the Messiah, or Elias, or 
that prophet who was to rise from the dead, and precede the 
Messiah, the powerful prince so earnestly expected by the whole 
nation of Israel. 

The Baptist frankly replied, That he was not the Messiah 
whom they expected, nor Elias, who, as they vainly thought 
would personally appear amongst them, nor any other prophet 
risen from the dead; but at the same time hinted to them, that 
though he was not Elias himself, yet he was that person spoken 
of by. the prophet Isaiah, and of whom he thus prophesied: 
" The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the 
way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our 
God." Isaiah xl. 3. 

The Priests and Levites, not sufficiently gratified with this 
reply of the Baptist, demanded of him, why he assumed the 
power of baptizing the people, if he was neither the Messiah, 
nor Elias, nor any of the ancient prophets risen from the dead. 
To this demand John answered, I indeed baptize, to show the 
necessity of repentance, but my baptism is only that of water, 
and wholly ineffectual in itself to the remission of sins; but that 
washing, foretold by Zacharias, is of most sovereign effect: it 
is not my province, but solely that of the Messiah, who is actu- 
ally upon earth, and among ye, though ye know him not, because 
he hath not manifested himself unto the world. The Messiah 
is so far exalted beyond me, in power and dignity, that I am not 
worthy to do him the meanest offices. 

The day after the departure of the Priests and Levites from 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



77 



Bethabara, our blessed Lord left the wilderness, and repaired 
thither himself, while John was yet baptizing and preaching the 
doctrine of repentance. 

The Baptist, as his grand business was to direct all persons to 
the Messiah, for life and salvation, in and through him, embraced 
this seasonable opportunity of pointing him out to the multitude, 
" Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the 
world!" 

Lest the attending crowd should surmise, that it had been 
previously concerted between Jesus and John, that the former 
should assume, and the latter give him, the appellation of Mes- 
siah, he publicly and solemnly declared, that he was equally 
with them ignorant of the pretensions of Jesus to that high 
character, till he saw the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost, 
and heard him pronounced, in the most awful manner, the Son 
of God. 

" And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending 
from heaven, like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew 
him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same 
said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending,, 
and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the 
Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of 
God." John i. 32, 33, 34. 

The Baptist having made this public declaration, the Messiah 
left Bethabara, but returned the day following, and John hap- 
pening to stand with two of his followers on the bank of the river 
Jordan, pointing to him as he passed, and in a pious rapture, 
repeated what he had addressed to the multitude the preceding 
day, "Behold the Lamb of God." It is hence imagined, that 
these two disciples, or followers of the Baptist, were absent at 
the time of the descent of the Holy Ghost, and for that reason 
this method was taken of pointing out to them the venerable 
person of the promised Redeemer of the world. 

Animated with an ardent desire of hearing, as well as seeing 
this extraordinary person, they left John and followed Jesus, 
who, conscious of their design, turned about, and, with the utmost 
affability, gave them an invitation to the place of his residence. 
The Evangelist John informs us, that one of these disciples was 
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter; and it is conjectured, 
from his silence, that himself was the other; for it is remarkable, 
that in his writings he studiously concealed his own name. Be 
that as it will, it is abundantly evident, that the testimony of the 
Baptist, added to the tokens he had from the blessed Jesus, in 
the course of his converse with him, amply satisfied Andrew that 
he was indeed the promised Messiah, the Saviour and Redeemer 
of lost and perishing sinners. 

Andrew soon after found his brother Peter 5 and brought him 



78 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

to our blessed Lord, who immediately called him by his name f 
telling him that he should afterwards be called Cephas, (which 
signifies a rock) from his firm resolution of mind, and also because 
he should contribute towards the foundation of the Christian 
church. 

Some time after, Jesus casually met with Philip, an inhabi- 
tant of the town of Bethsaida, and said to him "Follow me." 
Philip immediately obeyed the divine command, having heard 
of the character and mission of our blessed Saviour. It is sup- 
posed that this disciple was present at the miraculous descent of 
the Holy Spirit on our Lord at his baptism, which being 
admitted, his ready compliance with his call is no matteF of 
admiration. 

Philip meeting with Nathaniel, an inhabitant of Cana, a town 
in Galilee, informed him of the actual coming of the long-expec- 
ted Messiah, that great deliverer of Israel, spoken of by Moses 
and the ancient prophets: " Jesus of Nazareth, the son of 
Joseph." Nathaniel was assured, from the predictions concer- 
ning the Messiah, that he was to be descended from the line 
of David, and born in the city of Bethlehem, and therefore 
discovered an amazement at his being called Jesus of Nazareth: 
"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Can that most 
contemptible of places, Nazareth, be supposed to have given 
birth to the mighty Saviour, the Prince of Peace? especially as 
it was expressly foretold by the prophet, that he was to be born 
in Bethlehem, the city of David. 

Notwithstanding the improbability of such an event, Nathaniel 
listened to Philip, and determined on an examination of the 
person who he said was the promised Messiah. Accordingly, 
under his direction, he repaired to the blessed Jesus, who, know- 
ing his character, saluted him, on his approach, with this honora- 
ble appellation, " Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 
guile." 

Nathaniel amazed at our Lord's pertinent address, as he had 
never before seen him, asked by what means he obtained such 
precise knowledge of him. Our Lord replied, " he had seen 
him under the fig-tree. Probably Nathaniel had been pray- 
ing under the fig-tree," and been overheard by our Lord, who, 
from the substance of his prayer, thus concluded his character; 
for when the blessed Jesus informed him that he gave him that 
character on account of what had passed under the fig-tree, 
Nathaniel perceived that he knew not only what had passed at a 
distance, but had access to the inmost thoughts of the heart, a 
property not allotted to mortals; and therefore exclaimed with 
rapture, " Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of 
Israel." 

Our Saviour then told him, he should hereafter have much 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



79 



stronger testimonials of the divinity of his mission, when he 
should be eye-witness to what the old patriarch Jacob had before 
seen in a vision, the angels of heaven descending and ascending, 
to attend the person and execute the commands of the Son of 
Man. 

The great Redeemer, having attested the divinity of his mis- 
sion by many incontestable evidences, and made five disciples, 
departed for Galilee, where, soon after his arrival, he was invi- 
ted, with his mother and disciples, to a marriage feast at Cana, 
a place near Nazareth. 

At these nuptials there happened to be a scarcity of wine, and 
his mother, who interested herself in the conduct of the feast r 
and was therefore desirous that every thing should be done with 
decorum, applied to her son, hoping he would be able to remedy 
the defect. 

She had, doubtless, conceived he had the power of working 
miracles, and was therefore desirous that he would give proof of 
his ability in the presence of her friends, who were assembled at 
the marriage. 

Addressing herself, therefore, to her son, she told him, "they 
have no wine." Oar Lord gently reproved her, in these words, 
"Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet 
come;" that is, the time or period of my public ministry is not 
yet arrived; nor is it time for me to display my supernatural 
powers. 

Notwithstanding this mild reproof, his mother still entertained 
an opinion that he would interest himself in behalf of her and 
the company, and therefore ordered the servants punctually to 
obey his commands. 

Our blessed Lord being assured, that working a miracle would 
greatly tend to confirm the faith of his young disciples, exerted 
his divine power, by ordering the servants to fill six water-pots, 
containing each about twenty gallons, with water; which 
was no sooner done, than the whole was converted into excel- 
lent wine. 

He then ordered them to draw, and bear to the governor of 
the feast, who being ignorant of the miracle that had been 
wrought, and astonished at the preference of this wine to that 
which had been served up at the beginning of the feast, addres- 
sed himself to the bridegroom, in the hearing of the whole 
company, telling him that, contrary to the usual custom, he had 
reserved the best wine to the last, at the same time commending 
so judicious a practice, as a plain proof of his approbation of 
his friends present at the entertainment. The bridegroom was 
equally surprised at the address of the governor of the feast, and 
the occasion of it, which was effected by the supernatural power 
of our blessed Lord. 

10 



80 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



This miracle, which was the first wrought bj Jesus, confirmed 
the faith of his followers, and spread his renown throughout the 
adjacent country. The votaries of infidelity have not failed to 
arraign the truth of this event, as well as to vent their sarcastic 
humor upon it. Their mirth and ridicule seem chiefly founded 
on a supposition, that most of the company were intoxicated, 
and consequently more liable to delusion; but we desire them 
to suspend their opinion, or at least their judgment a little, while 
we remind them, that the governors speech to the bridegroom, 
"Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and 
when men have well drunk, then that which is worse," does not 
imply even such a supposition; but an evident reference to the 
manner in which the entertainment was conducted, a manner 
much preferable to that customarily followed. 

Nor can these wise people in their own conceit, rationally 
think, that Jesus ordered, or expected, that all the wine he had 
furnished should be expended at this entertainment; for, accord- 
ing to the Jewish custom on these occasions, it continued a week. 
Permit us likewise to observe, that there might be a very impor- 
tant reason assigned for our Lord's furnishing such abundance; 
because, if the quantity had been considerably less, the miracle 
would have been much less apparent, and the enemies of Chris- 
tianity, ever ready to grasp at the shadow or the pretence, might 
have denied that a miracle was wrought at all, it having been 
easy to convey away a small quantity of water, and substitute 
the like quantity of wine in its place; whereas such a deception 
must be allowed impracticable, in so large a quantity, the trans- 
mutation being momentary. 

The deists have likewise made much parade of argument 
concerning the size of these water-pots. In this we give them 
their utmost scope, persuaded, that all which they can say on 
that head will not, in the least, tend to invalidate the Christian 
cause. 

The blessed Jesus, having thus, by divers means, confirmed 
the faith of his disciples, and attested the truth and divinity of 
his mission, among those with whom he had been brought up, 
departed from Cana, and proceeded towards Jerusalem, in order 
to keep the approaching passover. 




\ 

\ 



i 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 83 



CHAPTER V. 

Expulsion of the profaners of the Temple. — Jesus visits and disputes 
with JVicodemus. — Baptizes in Judea. — Instructs a poor Sama- 
ritan. — Heals a sick person at Capernaum. — Retires again to 
Nazareth, and is expelled thence by his impious countrymen. 

Our blessed Lord, immediately on his arrival at Jerusalem, 
repaired to the temple, nor was a little shocked at beholding a 
place dedicated to the solemn service of Almighty God, so pros- 
tituted to purposes of fraud and avarice, and become the resort 
of traders of every kind. 

Such abuse could not long escape his notice or correction, 
having an absolute right to chastise so flagrant a perversion of a 
place, that, strictly speaking, was his own. "The Lord whom 
ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple: even the messenger 
of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, 
saith the Lord of Hosts." 

Accordingly the blessed Jesus, whose pious soul was vexed at 
their profanation of the sacred place, drove out the traders, and 
overset the tables of the money-changers, saying unto them that 
sold doves, "Take these things hence; make not my Father's 
house an house of merchandize." 

These mercenary wretches appear to have been struck at once 
with a consciousness of their guilt, and the severity of our Lord's 
reproof, as they immediately departed, without making the least 
resistance. But our Lord's conduct in this affair, carrying with 
it every token of zeal, for which the ancient prophets were so 
remarkable, the council assembled, and determined to inquire 
by what authority he attempted such a reformation, requiring, at 
the same time, a demonstrative proof of the divinity of his com- 
mission. 

To gratify their curiosity, our blessed Lord referred them only 
to the miracle of his own resurrection; "Destroy," says he, 
laying his hand on his breast, "this temple, and I will raise it 
up in three days." The rulers, mistaking his meaning, imagined 
that he referred to the superb and lofty temple finished by 
Herod, and therefore told him such relation was highly impro- 
bable; nor had they the least reason to think he could possibly 
rebuild, in three days, that magnificent structure, which had 
been finished at immense expense, and was the labor of so many 
years. 

Though the blessed Jesus declined compliance with the re- 
quest of the mighty and noble amongst the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem, he wrought several miracles in the presence of the com- 



84 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



mon people, in order to confirm the doctrines he delivered, and 
prove the divinity of his mission. 

As there had not been any miracles wrought amongst them 
for a considerable time, though many were recorded in their 
sacred books, they beheld our blessed Lord with amazement 
and veneration; and numbers were satisfied that he was the long 
promised Messiah, "the desire of all nations," so often foretold 
by the ancient prophets. For wise reasons, however, he did not 
publicly discover that he was the Great Prophet, as he knew 
that the faith of numbers was yet but weak, and that, conse- 
quently, many would desert his cause, when they found he was 
opposed by the Sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, and 
did not set up a worldly kingdom, as they thought the expected 
Messiah was to do. But the miracles wrought by the Holy 
Jesus did not excite the wonder and astonishment of the common 
and illiterate class of the people alone. 

Nicodemus, a principal person among them, impartially re- 
flecting on his wondrous works, so astonishing in their nature, 
so demonstrative in their proof, so salutary in their effect, so 
happily adapted to the confirmation of his doctrines, and so per- 
fectly agreeable to the attributes of the Deity, as well as the 
predictions of the ancient prophets, concerning the Messiah, 
"the Sun of righteousness, who was to rise with healing in his 
wings," was perfectly assured that nothing less than Omnipo- 
tence itself could produce such wonders; and thence, like many 
others of his countrymen, concluded that Jesus was of a truth 
the Son, and sent of God, which last term is the meaning of the 
word Messiah, But scruples still arose in his mind, when, on the 
other hand, he considered the obscurity of his birth, and the 
meanness of his appearance, so different from the exalted notions 
the people of the Jews always entertained concerning this pow- 
erful prince, who was to erect his throne in the mighty city of 
Jerusalem, and subject to his dominion all the states and king- 
doms of the earth. To obviate, therefore, these scruples, and 
solve these perplexing doubts, Nicodemus resolved on an inter- 
view with the blessed Jesus; but choosing to conceal his visit 
from the other members of the Sanhedrim, who were greatly 
averse to his person and doctrine, he chose the night as most 
convenient for that purpose. 

His salutation of the mighty Redeemer of Israel was this: 
"Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for 
no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be 
with him." John iii. 2. 

Rabbi, I am sufficiently convinced that thou art immediately 
sent as a teacher from on high; for nothing less than power divine 
could enable thee to perform the miracles which thou hast 
wrought in the presence of multitudes. But this salutation by 



MCODEMTJS 5 INTERVIEW WITH CHRIST. 

[Page 84.] 




"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 

"The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art 
a teacher come from God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be 
with him." — St. John, iii. 1, 2. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



85 



no means implies, that Nicodemus thought Jesus the great 
promised Messiah, even the Redeemer of Israel; nor could he 
obtain that knowledge, till it was revealed to him by the blessed 
Spirit of God. 

We may observe that our Saviour, waiving all formality and 
circumlocution, which tend to no real profit, immediately preaches 
to this disguised Rabbi, the first great doctrine of Christianity, 
regeneration; "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus, I 
declare unto thee, as a truth of the last importance; verily, verily, 
unless a man be regenerated in the spirit of his mind, have his 
will and affections transferred from earthly to spiritual objects, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God, which is holy and spiritual in 
its nature and enjoyments. 

This was a mysterious system to the Rabbi, whose religious 
views extended no farther than rites and ceremonies, and were 
bounded by time and space; besides he thought the very position 
of our Lord, an absurdity in terms ; " How can a man be born 
when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's 
womb, and be born?" Our Lord replies to this question, " Except 
a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God." The regeneration which I preach unto 
you, is not of a natural, but of a spiritual nature : unless a man 
embraces the Christian religion and doctrines, whose initiating 
ordinance is baptism, and the subject of divine grace, he cannot 
be the subject of divine glory, which consists not in earthly 
splendor, and the gratification of the meaner passions, but in an 
exemption from whatever is earthly, sensual and devilish, and the 
prosecution of whatever is heavenly, holy, and spiritual. — " That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the 
spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born 
again;" wonder not at the doctrine of regeneration, which is de- 
signed to inform you, that you derive no excellence from your 
boasted descent from Abraham ; as such you are merely earthly, 
subject to sins, and infirmities of every kind; as well as to show 
that you must undergo a spiritual mental regeneration, a renova- 
tion of the heart, which changes the whole man, and fits you for 
the participation of heavenly blessedness. 

This important work is likewise spiritual in its operation, un- 
seen by mortal eyes, being wrought on the mind or heart of man, 
by the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, which changes his 
nature, and with respect to eternal things, makes him another, a 
new creature. " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, 
and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 

Notwithstanding this explanation of the blessed Jesus, Nicode- 
mus was so prepossessed with partiality towards the Jews, who, 



86 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



on account of their alliance to Abraham, thought they were the 
people of God, entitled to heaven, and consequently in no need 
of this new operation of the mind, called regeneration, that he 
again demanded, "How can these things be?*' The divine in- 
structor then reproves his dullness and miapprehension of what 
he had so clearly explained and propounded to him, especially 
as he was himself a teacher of the people, and one of the great 
council of the nation. " Art thou a master of Israel, and know- 
est not these things?" The doctrines I deliver are not fiction, 
and mere surmise, but founded on eternal truth, immediately re- 
vealed from God, and consistent with the will of heaven. I am 
witness to the same, and therefore affirm that such testimony is 
sufficient to render them valid. But your prejudices still prevail, 
nor can your unbelief be conquered by all the arguments I can 
advance. "We speak that we do know, and testify that we 
have seen, and ye receive not our witness." 

If ye thus reject the first principles of the Christian religion, 
such as the necessity of regeneration, or the influence of the spirit 
of God upon the heart of man, how will ye believe the sublimer 
truths I shall hereafter deliver concerning the kingdom of God, 
or state of the saints in glory ? If I inform you of spiritual trans- 
actions in this lower world, and ye believe not, how can ye believe 
if I tell you of those things which relate solely to another and 
heavenly state? But to confirm your belief in what I have de- 
livered, know that my assured knowledge of these things is derived 
from the Father of Light, the God of Truth, by whom I am vested 
with gifts superior to any of the ancient prophets. 

No man hath ascended the regions of immortality, and descen- 
ded from thence, but "the Son of Man;" consequently, no man 
but "the Son of Man," can, with truth and certainty, reveal the 
immediate will of the Father, who is in heaven. Your great 
lawgiver, Moses, ascended not there; Mount Sinai was the sum- 
mit of his elevation; whereas the Son of Man, who was in heaven, 
and came down from thence, with a divine commission to sinful 
mortals, had the most clear and convincing proofs of the will 
of his Almighty Father, penetrated into the designs of infinite 
wisdom and grace, and consequently must be higher than any 
prophet, being in a peculiar sense, the prophet of the most high 
God, or Angel of the presence. 

It appears, from the future conduct of Nicodemus, that instead 
of supposing Jesus to be only "a teacher come from God," he 
was fully convinced that he was the "Messiah, the Redeemer of 
Israel:" for he afterwards constantly espoused his cause in the 
great council of the nation ; and when his countrymen put him to 
an ignominious death, he, together with Joseph of Arimathea, 
eonveyed him to burial, when all others had forsaken him. 

The time of the passover at Jerusalem being expired, Jesus, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



89 



together with his disciples, withdrew into the remote parts of 
Judea, where he continued a considerable time, preaching the 
kingdom of God, and baptizing the new converts. — John the 
Baptist being also, at the same time baptizing in the river Enon, 
a dispute arose between his disciples and certain Jews, concern- 
ing the preference of the baptism of Jesus. 

Being unable to decide the point, they referred it to the opinion 
of John; on which the pious Baptist immediately declared, that 
he was only the harbinger of the great Messiah, who baptized 
not only with water, but with the Holy Spirit; adding, that his 
own ministry was on the decline, as the beauty of the morning 
star, the harbinger of the sun, decreases when that fountain of 
light but dawns in the chambers of the east. 

The Baptist likewise mentioned to his disciples and hearers, 
many circumstances tending to prove the divinity of the mission 
of the holy Jesus, and the important design of his incarnation. 
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but he that 
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God 
abideth on him." 

The Baptist, having publicly preached the great doctrine of 
salvation through faith in Jesus, departed from the wilderness of 
Judea, where he had continued a considerable time, and went 
into Galilee, often repairing to the court of Herod, who esteemed, 
or affected to esteem, both his preaching and person. But John, 
being faithful in his ministry, could not fail to remonstrate on the 
injustice and impiety of a known practice of Herod, which was, 
his cohabiting with Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; and 
thereby incurring the displeasure of that ambitious woman, he 
was, at her instance, cast into prison, and there reserved for fu- 
ture destruction. 

Whilst these things happened in Galilee, our blessed Lord 
continued preaching in the wilderness, whither great numbers 
resorted, attracted by curiosity, to see the miracles which fame 
reported he daily wrought. The success of his ministry, exciting 
the envy of the hypocritical tribe of Pharisees, our blessed Lord 
thought proper to retire into Galilee, in order to promote the 
design of his mission in those parts. 

In the course of his journey, being weary with traveling in so 
warm a country, and excessive thirsty, he sat down in Samaria, 
by a celebrated well, given by the old patriarch Jacob to his 
son Joseph, while his disciples were gone to the city to procure 
provisions. 

While the humble Jesus was sitting by the well-side, a woman, 
a native of the country, came with her pitcher to fetch water; 
and our Lord requested of her to give him to drink. The ap- 
pearance of Jesus astonished the woman, because she knew him 
to be a Jew, and the Samaritans were held in the utmost con- 



0 



90 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

tempt by those people, who, indeed, arrogated a preference to all 
nations upon earth. But though she knew him to he a Jew, she 
knew not that he was the Son of God, full of grace and truth, 
divested of human prejudices, and the very essence of humility, 
and every virtue. 

As the design of his mission and incarnation was to promote 
the real happiness of mankind, he embraced every opportunity 
of enforcing his salutary doctrines, and therefore, though his 
thirst was extreme, he delayed its gratification, in order to inform 
this woman, though of an infamous character, of the means by 
which she might obtain living water, or, in other words, eternal 
life. As the best method to effect this purpose, he gave her to 
understand, that had she known the character of the supplicant, 
she would have eagerly satisfied his desire, and been retaliated 
by a gift the most invaluable, even "living water," issuing from 
the well of eternal salvation. 

The woman, taking his words in the common acceptation, 
imagining that he suggested his power of supplying her with 
water flowing from a perpetual spring, which, in that parched 
climate, appeared impossible, demanded of him if he was vested 
with a power superior to their father Jacob, who dug this well, 
drank out of it with his family, and left it for the benefit of 
posterity. 

The Saviour and friend of mankind, still benign in his purpose 
towards this poor wretch, replied, " That all who drank of the 
water of Jacob's well would thirst again, being but a temporary 
allay of a desire incident to human nature: whereas those who 
drank of the water which he was ready to dispense, should never 
thirst; because that water flowed from the inexhaustible fountain 
of Divine Grace, and could not be drained but with immensity 
itself." 

Though this great preacher of Israel, by a simple and natural 
allegory, displayed the power of divine grace, the woman, blind 
to the allusion, endeavored to turn his pious and benevolent dis- 
course to ridicule, desiring the gift of that " living water," which 
would for ever prevent her from thirsting for the future. 

To show her the malignity of her presumption, in turning into 
contempt the discourse of him, who had the words of eternal life, 
the blessed Jesus, by some pertinent questions and replies, evinced 
his knowledge of her infamous course of life, and by that means 
convinced her that he acted under an influence more than human. 
To evade however, the present subject of discourse, which filled 
her with a degree of awe and fear, she proposed to his discussion 
a case long warmly contested between the Jews and Samaritans, 
" Whether Mount Gerizim, or the city of Jerusalem, was destined 
by God as the place peculiarly set apart for religious worship V 
Our blessed Lord replied to this evasive as well as insignificant 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



91 



question, " that it was not the place, but the manner in which 
adoration was offered to the Father of Spirits, that rendered 
such worship acceptable;" observing that "God is a Spirit, and 
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
John iv. 24. 

In consequence of this reply to her, which apparently referred 
to things spiritual and eternal, she informed the blessed Jesus 
of her expectation of the arrival of the promised Messiah, who 
should punctually inform them concerning these points, so long 
undecisively contested. 

Our Lord, embracing the opportunity of preaching himself to 
this poor woman, as the Saviour of sinners, replied, without hesi- 
tation, " I that speak unto thee am he." 

While Jesus continued talking with the woman, his disciples 
returned, and approached him at the very time when he told the 
woman that he was the Messiah. Though they were astonished 
at his condescension in conversing with an inhabitant of Samaria, 
and even of instructing her in the doctrines of religion, none 
presumed to ask him why he conversed with one who was an 
enemy to the Jews, and the worship in the temple at Jerusalem. 
But the woman hearing Jesus call himself the Messiah, left her 
pitcher, and ran into the city to publish the glad tidings, that 
the great Deliverer of mankind was then sitting by the well of 
Jacob ; and had told her all the secret transactions of her life. 
This report astonished the Samaritans, and at the same time 
roused their curiosity to see a person foretold by Moses and the 
prophets, and of whose appearance there was then so universal 
an expectation. 

The disciples, on their return, set before their master the pro- 
vision they had purchased; but he, wholly absorbed in meditation, 
refused the refreshment so highly requisite, telling them he had 
"meat to eat they knew nothing of." This unexpected answer 
surprised his disciples, who, understanding his words in their 
natural sense, asked one another, whether any person had, during 
their absence, supplied him with provisions? But Jesus soon 
explained the mystery, by telling them, that he did not mean 
natural but spiritual food; that, to execute the commission he 
had received from his Father, was far better to him than meat 
or drink; and the satisfaction he was going to receive from the 
conversion of the Samaritans much greater than any sensual 
enjoyment. 

Many of the Samaritans were now near Jesus, who, lifting up 
his eyes, and seeing the ways crowded with people coming to 
him from the city, stretched out his benevolent hand towards 
them, and addressed his disciples in the following manner: 
" Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh har- 
vest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the 



92 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fields; for they are white already to harvest.'' John iv. 35. Be- 
hold yonder multitudes, how they are thronging to hear the 
word, which has only a few minutes been sown in their hearts! 
It is not, therefore, always necessary to wait with patience for 
the effect; for it sometimes immediately follows the cause. To 
gather this spiritual harvest, and finish the work of him that sent 
me, is my proper food; adding, for the encouragement of his 
disciples, As you have labored with me, in this harvest of souls, 
so shall you participate in the great recompense of eternal re- 
ward: "he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto 
life eternal; that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth, may 
rejoice together." John iv. 36. 

Many of the people had been so affected at the words of the 
woman, that they were fully persuaded Jesus could be no other 
than the great Messiah; accordingly their first request was, that 
he would deign to take up his residence in their city. The com- 
passionate Redeemer of the human race, so far complied, as to 
stay with them two days; an interval which he spent in preaching 
to them the kingdom of God ; so that the greatest part of the city 
embraced the doctrine of the gospel, and at his departure, said 
unto the woman, "Now we believe, not because of thy saying: 
for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the 
Christ, the Saviour of the world." John iv. 42. 

Having accomplished his gracious design in Samaria, Jesus 
continued his journey to Galilee, to exercise his ministry, and 
preach there the kingdom of God: telling his disciples, that the 
time was now accomplished which had been pre-determined by 
Omnipotence, for erecting the happy kingdom of the Prince of 
Peace; and, therefore, the Mosaic ceremonies were no longer 
obligatory, righteousness alone being now required from the 
children of men. 

Our Lord had performed several miracles at Jerusalem during 
the passover, at which the inhabitants of Galilee were present. 
His preaching was, therefore, at first attended with great success, 
for they listened attentively to his doctrine, and received it with 
particular kindness and courtesy; especially the people of Cana, 
where he had turned the water into wine. 

During his residence in that city, a nobleman of Capernaum 
came to him, requesting, with great humility and reverence, that 
he would come down and heal his son, who was at the point of 
death. Our blessed Saviour readily complied with the latter 
part of this request; but to remove a prejudice they had con- 
ceived, that it was necessary to be personally present, in order 
to restore the sick person to health, refused to go down to Caper- 
naum, dismissing the father with this assurance, that his son was 
restored to health. "Go thy way; thy son liveth." John iv. 50. 
The nobleman obeyed the word of Jesus, and immediately de- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



93 



parted for his own house ; but before his arrival, he was met by 
his servants, with the joyful news that his son was recovered. 
On this the father inquired at what time they perceived an al- 
teration for the better; and from their answer was satisfied, that 
immediately after the words were spoken by the blessed Jesus, 
the "fever left him," and he was recovered in a miraculous man- 
ner. This amazing instance of his power and goodness, abun- 
dantly convinced the nobleman and his family, that Jesus was 
the true Messiah, the great prophet so long promised to the 
world. 

After some stay in the city and neighborhood of Cana, Jesus 
went to Nazareth, where he had spent the greatest part of his 
youth, and, as his constant custom was, went to the synagogue 
on the sabbath day, and read that celebrated prediction of the 
Messiah in the prophet Isaiah, " The spirit of the Lord is upon 
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the 
poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, 
to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the accep- 
table year of the Lord." Luke iv. 18, 19. 

It should be remembered, that our blessed Saviour read this 
passage in the original Hebrew, which was then a dead lan- 
guage: and, as he had never been taught letters, could do it 
only by inspiration from above. But he did more; he explained 
the passage with such strength of reason, and beauty of expres- 
sion, that the inhabitants of Nazareth, who well knew he had 
never been initiated into the rudiments of learning, heard him 
with astonishment. But as he performed no miracle in their 
city, they were offended at him. Perhaps they thought the place 
of his residence should have been his peculiar care; and, as he 
could, with a single word, heal the sick at a distance, not a 
single person in Nazareth should have been afflicted with any 
kind of disease. That they really entertained sentiments of this 
kind seems plain from our Saviour's own words: "Ye will surely 
say to me, Physician, heal thyself: whatever we have heard 
done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;" evidently allu- 
ding to the great and benevolent miracle he had wrought on the 
nobleman's son. 

But the holy Jesus, by enumerating the miracles Elijah had 
done in behalf of the widow of Sarepta, who was a heathen, 
and an inhabitant of an idolatrous city, in the time of famine, 
when many widows in Israel perished with hunger; and of Naa- 
man the Syrian, who was cured of his leprosy by the prophet 
Elisha, when numbers of Jews, afflicted with the same loathsome 
disease, were suffered to continue in their uncleanness, suffi- 
ciently proved that the prophets had, on some extraordinary 
occasions, wrought miracles in favor of those whom the Isra- 



94 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



elites from a fond conceit of their being the peculiar favorites of 
heaven, judged unworthy of such marks of particular favor. — 
The council were so incensed at this reply, that, forgetting the 
sanctity of the sabbath, they hurried him through the street "to 
the brow of the hill whereon their city was built," intending to 
cast him headlong down the precipice; but the Son of God 
defeated their cruel intentions, by rendering himself invisible, 
and withdrawing from the fury of these wretched people. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Our Lord proceeds to Capernaum. — Adds to the number of his fol- 
lowers, — Proclaims the Gospel in Galilee. — Preaches to a nume- 
rous audience his well-known and excellent Discourse upon the 
Mount, 

The holy Jesus, aggrieved by the cruel Nazarenes, departed 
from them, and fixed his habitation in Capernaum, the capital of 
Galilee, and, from being built on the borders of the Lake of 
Genesareth, a place highly convenient for his designs; for, besides 
the numerous inhabitants of that city, the trading towns on the 
Lake were crowded with strangers, who, after hearing the doc- 
trine of the Gospel preached by the great Redeemer of man- 
kind, would not fail to spread, in their respective countries, the 
happy tidings of salvation. 

Though it was expedient that he should spend a considerable 
time in preaching, and working miracles, to confirm his mission, 
and instruct his disciples in the doctrine they were afterwards to 
publish to the whole world, this could not be done at Jerusa- 
lem, the residence of the Scribes and Pharisees, whose ambition 
would never have suffered so celebrated a teacher as Jesus to 
reside among them: these countries were, therefore, the only 
places where he could, for any time, take up his residence, and 
instruct the people in such a manner, as to answer the great 
intention of his coming into the world. 

If any should inquire why he chose Capernaum in preference 
to all the other places situated on the Lake of Genesareth, we 
reply, because he was certain of being favorably received by 
the inhabitants of that city. He had gained the friendship of 
the principal family, by restoring to health a favorite child, who 
to all human appearance, was just sinking into the chambers of 
the grave. Nor was this family the only friends he had in that 
city; so stupendous a miracle could not fail of procuring the love 
and esteem of all the relations of that noble family; besides, 



LIFE GF CHRIST. 



95 



so benevolent and surprising a miracle must have conciliated the 
respect of all the inhabitants of Capernaum, who could not be 
ignorant of so remarkable an event. And accordingly our 
Saviour spent here, and in other places bordering on the Lake, 
a great part of the time of his public life; so that the inhabi- 
tants of these parts enjoyed a considerable share of the blessed 
company and divine instructions of the Son of God. 

It may not be amiss, in this place, to give a short descrip- 
tion of the celebrated lake, called in the Old Testament, the 
sea of Chinnereth; but in the New, it has three different appel- 
lations, being called the sea of Galilee, from the province of 
Galilee in general; the sea of Tiberias, from a city of that 
name on its western shore; and the lake of Genesareth, from a 
particular tract of Galilee, extending a considerable way along 
its western side. 

According to Josephus, it is a hundred furlongs in length, and 
forty in breadth. The bottom is of gravel, which renders the 
waters both of a good color and taste. It is softer than either 
fountain or river water; and, at the same time, so cold that it 
will not grow warm, though exposed to the rays of the sun in 
the very hottest season of the year. The river Jordan runs 
through the midst of it, which stocks it with a great variety 
of fish, of a peculiar form and flavor, not found in any other 
place. 

The countries surrounding this lake were large, fertile, and 
populous, especially the two Galilees, which, according to Jose- 
phus, had a great many towns, and a multitude of villages, the 
least of which contained fifteen hundred souls. On the east 
side were the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Gadara, and Hip- 
pon; on the west, Capernaum, Tiberias, and Tarrichea. And 
from all these advantages, it was a common saying among the 
Jews, that God loved the sea of Galilee above all other seas. 
An observation strictly just, if to these we add its greatest advan- 
tage, namely, that this sea, above all others, was frequently 
honored with the divine presence of the great Redeemer of 
mankind, while he dwelt at Capernaum, and even once after he 
arose from the dead. 

While Jesus tarried at Capernaum, he usually taught in the 
synagogues on the sabbath-day, preaching with such energy of 
power as greatly astonished the whole congregation. He did 
not, however, constantly confine himself to that city; the adja- 
cent country was often blessed with his presence, and cheered 
with the heavenly words of his mouth. 

In one of the neighboring villages, he called Simon and An- 
drew, who were following their occupation of fishing on the 
lake, to accompany him. These disciples, who had before been 
acquainted with him, readily obeyed the heavenly mandate, and 



96 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



followed the Saviour of the world. Soon after he saw James 
and John, who were also fishing on the lake, and called them 
also. Nor did they hesitate to follow the great Redeemer of 
mankind; and, from their ready compliance, there is reason to 
believe that they, as well as Simon and Andrew, were acquainted 
with Jesus and Jordan; unless we suppose, which is far from 
being improbable, that their readiness proceeded from the secret 
energy of his power upon their minds. But, however this be, 
the four disciples accompanied our blessed Saviour to Caper- 
naum, and soon after to different parts of Galilee. 

How long our Lord was on this journey cannot be determined: 
all that the Evangelists have mentioned is, that he wrought a great 
number of miracles on diseased persons; and that the fame of 
these wonderful works drew people from Galilee, Jerusalem, 
Judea, and beyond Jordan. Nor was the knowledge of these 
miracles concealed from the heathen, particularly the inhabi- 
tants of Syria; for they also brought their sick to Galilee to be 
healed by him. Consequently, the time our blessed Saviour 
spent in these tours must have been considerable, though the 
Evangelists have said very little concerning it. 

But whatever time was spent in these benevolent actions, the 
prodigious multitudes which flocked to him from every quarter, 
moved his compassion towards those who were bewildered in 
the darkness of ignorance, and determined him to preach to 
them "the words of eternal life." 

For this blessed purpose, he ascended a mountain in that 
neighborhood; and placing himself on an eminence, from whence 
he could be heard by throngs of people attending him, he incul- 
cated, in an amazingly pathetic manner, the most important 
points of religion. But, alas! they were coldly received, because 
many of them were directly opposite to the standing precepts 
delivered by the Scribes and Pharisees. Surely, these people, 
who had seen the blessed Jesus perform so many benevolent 
actions to the poor, the diseased, and the maimed, might have 
entertained a more favorable opinion of his doctrine, and known 
that so compassionate and powerful a person must have been 
actuated by the Spirit of God, and, consequently, that the doc- 
trine he taught was really divine. 

He opened his excellent sermon with the doctrine of happi- 
ness, a subject which the teachers of wisdom have always con- 
sidered as the principal object in morals, and employed their 
utmost abilities to convey a clear idea of it to their disciples, 
but differed very remarkably with regard to the particulars in 
which it consisted. The Jews were, in general, persuaded that 
the enjoyments of sense were the sovereign good. Riches, con- 
quest, liberty, mirth, fame, revenge, and other things of the same 
kind, afforded them such pleasures, that they wished for no 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



97 



better in the Messiah's kingdom, which they all considered as a 
secular one; and that a "golden," instead of a "sceptre of 
righteousness," would have been the "sceptre of his kingdom." 
Nay, some of the disciples themselves retained, for a time, the 
like kind of notion, till they were convinced of their mistake 
by the conduct of their divine Master. 

Our Lord and Master, therefore, to show his hearers in gen- 
eral, and his disciples in particular, the grossness of their error, 
declared, that the highest happiness of man consisted in the 
graces of the Spirit, because from the possession and exercise of 
them, the purest pleasures result; pleasures which satisfy even the 
Almighty himself, and constitute his ineffable felicity. The rich, 
the great, the proud, said the great Redeemer of mankind, in 
whom the wisdom of God was fully displayed, are not happy, 
as you imagine ; they are always wishing for what they cannot 
obtain; and their disappointments are poisoned arrows, festering 
in their breasts. On the contrary, the poor in spirit are the 
truly happy, who discharge the duties of their station, whatever 
it be, with virtue and integrity, and bless the omnipotent Hand 
who fashioned them in the womb, and guards them from all 
dangers in this humble vale of sorrow and distress: and though 
they are excluded from enjoying an earthly kingdom, yet they 
have a much better reserved for them eternal in the heavens. — 
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

The jocose and flighty are not the happy race of mortals; but 
on the contrary, the afflicted, provided they rightly improve 
their afflictions; that is, if they are excited by them to mourn 
for their sins, forsake their wicked courses, and seek a better 
life. For they shall here enjoy the consolation that their sins 
are forgiven; and, after passing through the valley of the shadow 
of death, the fruition of eternal joys. "Blessed are they that 
mourn: for they shall be comforted." 

The truth of this heavenly aphorism is very evident; for what 
has so great a power to turn the feet of the sons of men into the 
path of virtue, as affliction? Has not affliction a natural ten- 
dency to give mankind a distaste to the pleasures of the world, 
and convince them that they are nothing more than "vanity and 
vexation of spirit; and consequently, to demonstrate that they 
must seek for happiness in things more solid and permanent than 
any in the vale of tears? Affliction awakens the most serious 
thoughts in the mind; composes it into a grave and settled 
frame, very different from the levity inspired by prosperity : it 
gives a fellow-feeling of the sorrows of others; and makes it 
thoroughly sensible of the danger of departing from God, the 
source and centre of all its joys. 

Nor are the passionate happy; but on the contrary, the meek; 



98 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



those who have subdued their tempers can patiently bear pro- 
vocation, and are strangers to that destructive passion, envy. 
The meek shall inherit the choicest blessings of the present life; 
for, indeed, they principally flow from that benevolent and hea- 
venly temper of mind. Meekness consists in the moderation of 
our passions, which renders a person lovely and venerable in the 
eyes of his fellow-mortals; and thence he possesses their sincere 
esteem, while the passionate and envious man is considered as 
despicable, though adorned with the robe of honor, and digni- 
fied with the most ample possessions. "Blessed are the meek: 
for they shall inherit the earth." 

Men, through vanity and blindness, consider those as happy 
who enjoy the pleasures of this life, by rioting in luxury and 
excess. But this is far from being the case; on the contrary, 
those are the truly happy who have the most vehement desire 
of treading the paths of virtue and religion. For they, by the 
assistance of the Holy Spirit, shall obtain every thing they desire; 
shall be happy here in the practice of righteousness; and, after 
this transitory life is ended, shall be received into the blissful 
mansions of the heavenly Canaan. " Blessed are they that hun- 
ger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be rilled." 

Forgiveness, not resentment, for injuries done, is the spring 
of happiness; and those who are of a humane and benificent 
disposition, rejoice when they can perform a benevolent action, 
especially to their fellow-mortals in distress. The merciful shall 
see themselves recompensed even in this life; for they shall find, 
after many days, the bread they have cast upon the waters of 
affliction, returning tenfold into their bosoms. And surely no- 
thing can surpass the pleasure felt by a generous mind at having 
relieved a brother, when pressed beneath a load of misfortunes; 
the pleasure is godlike; it is divine. "Blessed are the merciful: 
for they shall obtain mercy." 

Sensuality, which is a subjection to the appetite, cannot be 
enjoyed by those who seek it in the goods of fortune: it is the 
state of those who have mortified their carnal appetites, to 
enjoy an inward purity of mind. With what delight do we be- 
hold the glories of the sun, and contemplate the beautiful scenes 
of nature that surround us! But what proportion has this to 
the ineffable delights that must fill the minds of those who 
behold the great Creator himself, who called the whole universe 
from nothing, and still supports it with the word of his power? 
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." 

The tyrants and conquerors of the earth, who disturb the 
peace of mankind, are far from happy; it falls to the share of 
those who love their fellow-creatures, and do all in their power 
to promote peace and harmony among the children of men. 
For they imitate, as far as human nature will permit, the per- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



99 



fection of their Maker; and therefore will be acknowledged by 
him for his children, and participate of his happiness. " Blessed 
are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of 
God." 

Nor does happiness consist in liberty and ease, if those privi- 
leges are purchased at the expense of virtue. Those who have 
suffered the severest trial that human nature is capable of sus- 
taining, from purity of heart, and for conscience sake, shall be 
honored with the highest rewards in the blissful mansions of eter- 
nity. " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' 
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

Contentment is not to be expected from the applause of the 
world; but will be the portion of those who are falsely reviled 
for their righteousness, and share in the affronts offered to God 
himself; for by these persecutions the prophets of all ages have 
been distinguished. "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, 
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you 
falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great 
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets 
which were before you." Matt. v. 11, 12. 

These are the declarations, with regard to happiness, made by 
the Son of God; and surely we may believe the words of him 
who came down from heaven; and who, in compassion to our 
infirmities, took upon himself our nature; and to redeem us from 
the power of sin and death, offered himself a sacrifice on the cross, 
and thereby opened to us the gates of eternal life. 

Having shown in what true happiness consisted, our Saviour 
addressed himself to his disciples, and explained their duty as 
the teachers appointed to conduct others in the paths that lead 
to eternal felicity: excited them to diligence in dispensing the 
salutary influences of their doctrine and example, that their 
hearers might honor and praise the great Creator of heaven and 
earth, who had been so kind to the children of men. 

As his definition of happiness was very different from what the 
Jews were accustomed to hear from the Scribes and Pharisees, 
he thought proper to declare that he was not come to destroy 
the moral precepts contained in the law or the prophets, but to 
fulfill or confirm them. 

Nothing is so steadfast as the eternal truths of morality; the 
heavens may pass away, and the whole frame of nature be dis- 
solved, but the rules of righteousness shall remain immutable 
and immortal. And, therefore, he ordered his disciples, on the 
severest penalties, to enforce, both by preaching and example, 
the strict observation of all the moral precepts contained in the 
sacred writings; and that in a much greater latitude than they 
were taken by the teachers of Israel. And, in consideration of 
the frailties of human nature, taught them that excellent form of 



100 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



prayer, which has been used by Christians of all denominations, 
to this very day. 
44 Our Father,*' &c. 

If earthly parents are called fathers, the Almighty has the best 
title from every creature, and particularly from men, being the 
father of their spirits, the maker of their bodies, and the continual 
preserver of both. Nor is this all; he is "our father.'" in a still 
higher sense; as he regenerates us, and implants his image upon 
our minds: so that, partaking of his nature, we become his chil- 
dren, and therefore, we can, with a holy boldness, call him by 
the title of that relation. In the former sense, God is the father 
of all his creatures, whether good or bad: but in the latter, he is 
the father only of the righteous. "Father" is the most magnifi- 
cent title invented by philosophers or poets, in honor of their 
gods; it conveys the most lovely idea possible to be conceived by 
the human breast. As it is used by mankind in general, it marks 
the essential character of the true God, namely, that he is the 
first cause of all things, or the auther of their being; and. at the 
same time, conveys a strong idea of the tender love he bears to 
his creatures, whom he nourishes with an affection, and protects 
with a watchfulness, infinitely superior to that of an earthly 
parent. The name of "father" also teaches us, that we owe 
our being to God, points out his goodness and mercy in upholding 
us, and expresses his power in giving us the things we ask. Nor 
is this all; we are likewise taught to give our Maker the title of 
"father," that our sense of the tender relation in which he stands 
to us may be confirmed; our faith in his power and goodness 
strengthened; our hopes of obtaining what we ask in prayer 
cherished: and our desire of obeying and imitating him quickened; 
for the light of nature teaches us, that it is disgraceful in children 
to degenerate from their parents, and that they cannot commit 
a greater crime than to disobey the commands of an indulgent 
father. 

44 Which art in heaven."' These words do not suppose the 
presence of God confined; he is present every where: is about 
our paths, and about our bed, and narrowly inspecteth every 
action of the sons of men. But they express his majesty and 
power, and distinguish him from those we call fathers upon 
earth, and from false gods, which are not in heaven, the happy 
mansions of bliss and felicity, where the Almighty, who is essen- 
tially present in every part of the universe, gives more especial 
manifestations of his presence, to such of his creatures as he hath 
exalted to share with him in the eternal felicities of the heavenly 
Jerusalem. 

44 Hallowed be thy name." By the name of God, the Hebrews 
understood God himself, his attributes, and his works; and, 
therefore, the meaning of the petition is, May thy existence be 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



101 



universally believed, thy presence loved and imitated, thy works 
admired, thy supremacy over all things acknowledged, thy provi- 
dence reverenced and confided in ! May all the sons of men think 
so highly of his divine majesty, of his attributes, of his works: and 
may we so express our veneration for God, that his glory may be 
manifested in every corner of the world! 

"Thy kingdom come." Let the kingdom of the Messiah, or 
the gospel dispensation, be extended to the utmost parts of the 
earth, that all the children of men " may become one fold, under 
one shepherd, Jesus Christ the righteous." 

" Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May thy 
will, O thou great Father of the universe, be done upon us, that 
by the light of thy glorious gospel, we may be enabled to imitate 
the angels of light, by giving as sincere, universal, and constant 
obedience to thy divine commands, as the imperfection of human 
nature will permit. 

" Give us this day our daily bread." Give us from time to 
time, such wholesome and proper food, that we may be enabled 
to worship thee with cheerfulness and vigor. 

" And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors." The Al- 
mighty, as supreme governor of the universe, has a right to sup- 
port his government, by punishing those who transgress his laws. 
The suffering of punishment, therefore, is a debt which sinners 
owe to the divine justice: so that when we ask God in prayer to 
forgive our debts, we beg that he would be mercifully pleased to 
remit the punishment of all our sins, particularly the pains of hell; 
and that, laying aside his displeasure, he would previously receive 
us into favor, and bless us with life eternal. In this petition, 
therefore, we confess our sins, and express the sense we have of 
their guilt; namely, that they deserve death; and sure nothing 
can be more proper than such a confession in our addresses to 
God; because humility, and a sense of our own unworthiness, 
when we ask favors of the Almighty, whether spiritual or tempo- 
ral, have a tendency to augment the goodness of God in bestow- 
ing them upon us. 

The terms of this petition are worthy of our notice: "Forgive 
us only as we forgive." We must forgive others, if we hope 
ourselves to be forgiven; and are permitted to crave from God 
such forgiveness only as we grant to others ; so that if we do not 
forgive even our enemies, we seriously and solemnly implore 
the Almighty to condemn us to the punishments of eternal death. 
How remarkably careful, therefore, should men be to purge 
their hearts from all rancor and malice, before they enter into 
the temple of the Almighty, to offer up their prayers to the 
throne of grace ! 

" And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 
That is, do not lead us into such temptations as are too hard for 



102 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



human nature; but deliver us. by some means, from the evil; 
either by removing the temptation, or increasing our strength to 
resist it. This petition teaches us to preserve a sense of our own 
inability to repel and overcome the solicitations of the world, 
and of the necessity there is of our receiving assistance from 
above, both to regulate our passions, and enable us to prosecute 
a religious life. 

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for 
ever and ever." Because the government of the universe is 
thine for ever, and thou alone possessest the power of creating 
and upholding all things; and because the glory of thine infinite 
perfections remains eternally with thee; therefore, all men ought 
to hallow thy name, submit themselves to thy government, and 
perform thy will; and in a humble sense of their dependence, 
seek from thee the supply of their wants, the pardon of their sins, 
and the kind protection of thy providence. 

This is emphatically called the Lord's prayer, because delivered 
by the Son of God himself; and therefore, we should do well to 
understand it thoroughly, that when we enter the temple of the 
Lord, and address him in solemn prayer, we may have hopes 
that he will grant our petitions. And, above all, not to harbor 
in our breasts the least envy or malice against any who may have 
offended us; for it is only a supposition that we have forgiven 
others, that we have the least reason to hope for obtaining for- 
giveness from the great Creator. 

The divine Preacher proceeded to consider the great duty of 
fasting, in which he directed them not to follow the hypocrites, 
in disfiguring their faces, and in clothing themselves in the melan- 
choly weeds of sorrow; but to be chiefly solicitous to appear 
before God as one that truly fasteth. Then will the Almighty, 
who constantly surrounds us, and is acquainted with even the 
most secret thoughts of our hearts, openly bestow upon us the 
rewards of a true penitent, whose mortification, contrition, and 
humility, he can discern, without the external appearances of 
sorrow and repentance. It must however, be remembered, that 
our blessed Saviour is here speaking of private fasting, and to 
this alone his directions are to be applied; for when we are called 
upon to mourn over the public sins or calamities, it ought to be 
performed in the most public manner. 

Heavenly-mindedness was the next virtue inculcated by the 
blessed Jesus: and this he recommended with a peculiar earnest- 
ness, because the Jewish doctors were, in general, strangers to 
this virtue, in which he was desirous his followers should be 
clothed, as being the most excellent ornament for a teacher of 
righteousness. 

This virtue is strenuously recommended by our blessed Saviour, 
by showing the deformity of its opposite, covetousness, which has 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



103 



only perishable things for its object. " Lay not up for yourselves 
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for your- 
selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. — 
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." — 
Matt. vi. 19, 20, 21. 

More solid happiness will accrue from depositing your trea- 
sures in the chambers of the courts of heaven, than in this earthly 
habitation of clay, where they are subject to a thousand disas- 
ters; and even, at best can remain only for a short series of 
years; whereas, those laid up in the heavenly Jerusalem are 
permanent, subject to no accident, and will purchase "a crown 
of glory that fadeth not away, eternal in the heavens." Nor let 
any man be so foolish as to think he can place his heart on the 
happiness of a future life, when his treasures are deposited in 
this vale of misery; for wherever are laid up the goods which 
his soul desireth, there his heart and affections will also remain. 
If, therefore, ye are desirous of sharing in the joys of eternity, 
ye must lay up your treasures in the "mansions of my Father's 
kingdom." 

Lest they should imagine it was possible to be both heavenly- 
minded and covetous at the same time, he assured them that this 
was full as absurd as to imagine that a person could, at the 
same time, serve and divide his affections equally between two 
masters of opposite characters. "No man can serve two mas- 
ters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else 
he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve 
God and mammon." Matt. vi. 24. 

To strengthen this doctrine, he added a few plain and evident 
instances of the power, perfection, and extent of God's provi- 
dence, in which his tender care for the least and weakest of his 
creatures shines with a remarkable lustre, demonstrating the wise 
and paternal attention of the. Deity to all the creatures of his 
hand. He desired them to observe the birds of the air, the lilies, 
and even the grass of the field; leading his most illiterate hea- 
rers to form a more elevated and extensive idea of the divine 
government than the philosophers had attained, who, though 
they allowed, in general, that the world was governed by God, 
had very confused notions of his providence with regard to every 
individual creature and action. He taught them that the Al- 
mighty Father of the whole was the guardian and protector of 
every being in the universe; that every action is subject to his 
will, and nothing left to the blind determination of chance. 

And if we direct our lives according to the divine will, we 
have surely no reason to be anxious about the necessaries of life. 
"Behold," says the blessed Jesus, "the fowls of the air: for they 



104 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye much better than 
they?" Matt. vi. 26. Are not the fowls of the air, who have 
no concern for future wants, fed and nourished by the beneficent 
hand of your he avn'ly Father? and can ye doubt that man, whom 
he hath made lord of the whole earth, shall be destitute of his 
tender care? "And why take ye thought for raiment? Con- 
sider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither 
do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in 
all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." Matt. vi. 28, 
29. Consider the lilies that so finely adorn the adjacent fields; 
how beautiful their form! how lively their colors! how fragrant 
their scent! the productions of art but faintly imitate them. — 
Even Solomon himself, dressed in his splendid robes of royalty, 
was but meanly adorned in comparison of these. And surely, 
if Omnipotence thus beautifully clothes various productions of 
the fields, whose duration is remarkably transient and uncertain, 
you have not the least reason to doubt but he will bless your 
honest endeavors, and send you proper clothing. Are ye not of 
infinitely more value than they? 

Be ye anxiously solicitous to obtain the happiness- of the life 
to come; and all the good things of this life, shall, in the course 
of divine Providence, be added unto you. 

Our Lord then prohibited all rash and uncharitable censure, 
either with regard to the characters of others in general, or their 
actions in particular: lest, in doing so, both God and man resent 
the injury. If you judge charitably, says the meek and benevo- 
lent Redeemer of the human race, (making proper allowances 
for the frailties of human nature) and are ready to pity and par- 
don their faults, both your heavenly Father, and man will deal 
with you after the same manner. But if you always put the 
harshest construction on every action, and are not touched with 
a feeling of your brother's infirmities, nor shew any mercy in 
the opinions you form of his character and actions, no mercy 
will be showed you, either from Omnipotence, or the sons of 
men. God will inflict on you the punishments you deserve, 
and the world will be sure to retaliate the injury. "Judge not, 
that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye 
shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be 
measured to you again. Matt. vii. 1, 2. 

The blessed Jesus, in his pious discourse, told them to incul- 
cate an entire reformation in themselves, a particular absolutely 
necessary in those whose office it is to reprove and reform their 
brethren. And surely, nothing can be more preposterous, than 
to condemn in others, what we practice ourselves ; or to set up 
for reformers of the world, when we ourselves are contaminated 
with the most enormous vices. With what countenance can we 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



105 



undertake to rebuke others for small faults, when we are ourselves 
plunged in the most detestable pollutions? Well might the Re- 
deemer of the world say, "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the 
beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to 
cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." Matt. vii. 5. 

These are the important points of doctrine recommended by 
the infallible preacher, as necessary to the teachers of the gos- 
pel of peace; but it is not enough that they know and practice 
the several branches of their duty: to extend the happy doctrine 
among mankind, there must also be a readiness, and even a 
desire, in the people to receive them: for if these be wanting, 
all attempts to spread these heavenly truths will prove abortive: 
and therefore our blessed Saviour added: "Give not that which 
is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, 
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend 
you." Matt. vii. 6. Do not reprove men of a snarling disposi- 
tion, as the attempt, instead of having the happy effects intended, 
will but provoke them to pursue their wickedness with greater 
boldness than ever. You may warn others against their compa- 
ny and example, you may weep over them, and you may pray 
to your heavenly Father for them; but you cannot reprove them 
with safety, or any hopes of success. 

Lest the disciples should think that these precepts were not 
to be attained by human nature, he directed them to apply to 
God for the assistance of his Spirit, together with all the other 
blessings necessary to their salvation: assuring them that if they 
asked with earnestness and perseverance, the Father of mercies 
would not fail to answer their requests, and give them whatever 
they desired; adding the noblest precept of morality that was 
ever delivered by any teacher, "All things whatsoever ye would 
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is 
the law and the prophets." Matt. vii. 12. How clear a rule of 
duty is this, and how easy and applicable to practice! Look 
into your breast, and do as you would be done by, in the same 
condition. 

Having enforced these heavenly precepts, he exhorted them 
to place an humble dependence on the Spirit, to strive to prac- 
tice the precepts of religion, however difficult the task might 
appear. "Enter ye in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate, 
and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many 
there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and 
narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that 
find it." Matt. vii. 13, 14. How straight indeed is the gate, how 
narrow the way, that leadeth to life ! In the way, nothing is to 
be found that flatters the flesh, but many things that have a ten- 
dency to mortify it; poverty, fasting, watching, injuries, chastity, 
sobriety. And with regard to the gate, it receives none that are 



106 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



puffed up with the glory of this life; none that are elated and 
blown up with pride; none that are distended with luxury: it 
does not admit those that are laden with the caskets of riches, 
or incumbered with the goods of this world. None can pass 
through it but those who are stripped of all worldly lusts, and 
who, having put off their bodies, are, if I may be allowed the 
expression, emaciated into spirits. There is, however, no reason 
for us to despair of entering through this heavenly portal; if we 
sincerely endeavor, the assistance of the Holy Spirit will make 
us "more than conquerors;" and we shall safely pass through 
the "straight gate," and pursue our journey with ease along the 
"narrow path," till we arrive at the blissful mansions of the 
heavenly Canaan. 

But lest evil-minded men, under the mask of piety and religion, 
should endeavor to draw them from the paths of righteousness, 
our blessed Saviour cautioned his disciples to beware of such 
persons, and carefully make the strictest scrutiny into their lives 
and doctrines. 

Our Lord closed his sermon with the parable of the houses 
built on different foundations; intimating, that the bare know- 
ledge, or the simple hearing of the divinest lessons of morality 
ever delivered, nay, even the belief of these instructions, with- 
out the practice of them, is of no manner of importance. 

Religion alone is the foundation which can so firmly establish 
us, that we cannot be shaken by all the tempests of afflictions, 
temptations, and persecutions of the present life. It is this foun- 
dation alone, which, like a flinty rock, or the basis of the moun- 
tains, can support us in the day of trial. This alone can enable 
us to frustrate the attempts of men and devils, and patiently en- 
dure all the troubles of mortality. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Our blessed Lord cures the Leprosy and Palsy, — Casts out a Devil. 
Succors the Mother-in-law of Peter; and afterwards pursues his 
Journey through the country of Galilee, 

The great preacher of Israel having finished his excellent 
discourse, came down from the mountain, surrounded by a multi- 
tude of people, who had listened with astonishment to the doc- 
trines he delivered, which were soon confirmed by divers mira- 
cles. A leper met him in his way to Capernaum, and being, 
doubtless, acquainted with the wondrous works he had already 
performed, threw himself, with great humility, before the Son 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



107 



of God, using this remarkable expression : " Lord, if thou wilt, 
thou canst make me clean." 

The species of leprosy common among the Jews, and other 
eastern nations, was equally nauseous and infectious; but this 
was so far from preventing the blessed Jesus from approaching so 
loathsome an object, that it increased his pity; he even touched 
him; but, instead of being polluted himself, the leper was instantly 
cleansed, and he departed, glorifying God. 

The Evangelist adds, that Jesus forbade him to tell any person 
what had been done, but repair immediately to the priest, and 
offer the gift commanded by Moses. 

Having performed the cure on the leper, our blessed Lord 
proceeded to Capernaum; but as he entered the city, he was 
met by a Roman centurion, who represented to him, in the most 
pathetic manner, the deplorable condition of his servant, who 
was grievously afflicted with a palsy. The compassionate Re- 
deemer of the world listened attentively to his complaint, and 
immediately told him he would come and heal him. The cen- 
turion thought this too great a condescension to one who was 
not of the seed of Jacob, and therefore told him, that he did not 
mean he should give himself the trouble of going to his house, as 
this was an honor he had not the least reason to expect, he being 
assured that his word alone would be sufficient; diseases and 
devils being as much subject to his commands, as his soldiers 
were to him. 

Our Lord was amazed at these words. Not that he was igno- 
rant of the centurion's faith, or the basis on which it was built; 
he well knew the thoughts of his heart long before he uttered his 
request; but he was filled with admiration at the exalted idea 
the Roman officer had conceived of his power; and to make this 
faith the more conspicuous, he gave it the praise it so justly de- 
served. " Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith ; 
no, not in Israel." Matt. viii. 10. 

This centurion, doubtless, relied upon the miracle Jesus had 
before wrought upon the nobleman's son; but the excellency and 
peculiarity of it consisted in applying the most grand ideas of 
the divine power of Jesus, who, according to outward appearance, 
was only one of the sons of men. 

This exalted faith induced the blessed Jesus to declare the 
gracious intentions of his Almighty Father, with regard to the 
Gentiles; namely, that he would as readily accept their faith as 
that of the Jews, and place them with Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, in the kingdom of heaven, while those who boasted of being 
the offspring of these great patriarchs, but fell far short of the 
heathens in faith, should be excluded from the blissful seats of 
Paradise. " And I say unto you, that many shall come from the 
east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, 

13 



108 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the 
kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be 
weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. viii. 11, 12. 

Having thus addressed the multitude, the blessed Jesus turned 
himself to the centurion, and said, 44 Go thy way, and as thou 
hast believed, so be it done unto thee." Though the idea thou 
hast conceived of my power is just, though remarkably great, as 
a reward for thy faith, I grant thee the petition thou hast asked 
of me. 44 And," the Evangelist adds, 44 his servant was healed in 
the self-same hour." Matt. viii. 13. 

On the succeeding Sabbath, our Saviour went into the Jewish 
synagogue at Capernaum, and taught the people, delivering his 
instructions in so graceful and elegant a manner, that they were 
all astonished; and to increase their admiration, one of the con- 
gregation, possessed with an unclean spirit, cried out, in a terrible 
manner, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou 
Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, 
who thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark, i. 24. 

But the blessed Jesus, who wanted the testimony of no such 
confessors, commanded him to keep silence, and immediately 
come out of the man ; which command the evil spirit instantly 
obeyed, to the great surprise and astonishment of all the spec- 
tators. 

The fame of this miracle was soon spread over the neighboring 
country. He had before healed the sick, and done many other 
wonderful things; but to command with authority the unclean 
spirits to quit their residence ; and to see these enemies to man- 
kind readily obey his voice, filled them with astonishment, and 
abundantly convinced them that he was filled with the Spirit 
of God. 

It has been asked, why the devil, who, it is plain from the text, 
knew our Saviour to be the Son of God, should put it into the 
heart of Judas to betray him, since this was the proper method 
of accomplishing the redemption of mankind? But the answer 
to this is obvious and easy. The devil, doubtless, knew Jesus to 
be the Messiah; but he was ignorant of the mystery of man's 
redemption. And, therefore, though he was not ignorant of his 
divinity, yet he might be so far infatuated as to think that, by 
destroying his humanity, he should defeat the great design of 
Omnipotence. For, however extensive we may suppose his 
intellectual faculties to be, yet the wonderful work of man's 
redemption, by the death of Christ, was a mystery that no finite 
understanding could comprehend, till God himself was pleased to 
reveal it. 

Having performed this astonishing miracle, in the synagogue, 
our Lord retired to Peter's house, where he found his wife's 
mother sick of a fever; but, on taking her by the hand, she was 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



109 



immediately restored to her former health, and arose from the 
bed, and ministered unto him. 

The Evangelist, St. Luke, in his account of this miraculous 
cure, tells us, that "he rebuked the fever," (Luke, iv. 39,) to inti- 
mate his authority over all diseases; being analogous to the 
figurative expressions in scripture, which not only represent all 
inanimate creatures as servants to the Almighty, but diseases, 
famine, pestilence, and the like, as executioners, waiting on him, 
to inflict punishment on rebellious sinners. " Before him went 
the pestilence, and burning diseases went forth at his feet." 

The fame of these miracles was soon spread through the city; 
and as soon as the sabbath was over, which ended at the setting 
of the sun, the whole city was gathered together about Peter's 
house, and with them great numbers of sick persons and those 
possessed with devils. The sight of so many human objects in 
distress, excited the pity of this heavenly physician ; so that he 
immediately healed them all. And thus was the prophecy of 
Isaiah fulfilled: "Himself took our infirmities and bare our 
sicknesses." 

But the vast concourse of people that now gathered round him 
in Capernaum, began to be troublesome, and he retired into a 
desert, whither the multitude soon followed him, and entreated 
him never to depart from them. But as this request was incon- 
sistent with the design of his mission, he, for the first time refused 
their request, "and preached in the synagogues of Galilee." 
Luke, iv. 44. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Jesus confirms his Misssion by producing a Miraculous Draught of 
Fishes \ — curing the Leprosy a second time; — appeasing the bois- 
terous Waves; — casting Devils out of divers Persons grievously 
possessed. 

Our blessed Lord, having spread his doctrine throughout 
Galilee, returned to Capernaum, followed by such numbers of 
people that he found it necessary to step into Peter's ship: from 
whence he taught the multitude, who stood on the shore listening, 
with great attention to his doctrine. 

Having concluded his discourse, he turned himself to Simon 
Peter, desiring him to launch out further from the shore, and let 
down his net. On which, the disciple told him of the unsuccess- 
ful pains they had taken during the whole night; but added, that 
he would, in obedience to his command, make one trial more. 



110 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Nor had he any cause to repent; for the net was no sooner in the 
lake, than they found it so full of large fishes, that it was in dan- 
ger of breaking. 

This success after such ill fortune, astonished Peter, who, fall- 
ing down at the feet of Jesus, cried out, "Depart from me, for I 
am a sinful man, O Lord." He was conscious of the many sins 
he had been guilty of, and therefore afraid of being in the com- 
pany of so divine a person, lest some infirmity or offence might 
have exposed him to more than ordinary chastisement. 

But the benevolent Redeemer of mankind removed his fears, 
by telling him that from thenceforth, the employments of him 
and his companions should be far more noble: they should "catch 
men;" that is, they should turn them from the crooked path of 
iniquity to the straight road leading to the heavenly mansions. 

This miracle was considered by the disciples as a plainer mani- 
festation of his being the Son of God, than those they had seen 
him perform on the sick in the city and neighborhood of Caper- 
naum. It was a received opinion among the Jews, that all good 
men, by prayers, and laying their hands on the sick, were able to 
cure certain diseases, and even to cast out devils; but that the 
creatures inhabiting the elements of air or water, were subject 
only to the commands of Omnipotence himself: consequently, 
the power shown by our blessed Saviour, on this occasion, unde- 
niably proved him to be divine. And, accordingly, this demon- 
stration of his power rendered these disciples, for the future, 
absolutely devoted to his will; and in the greatness of their ad- 
miration they abandoned every thing, and followed the Saviour 
of the world. 

The disciples being thus attached to their divine Master, fol- 
lowed him through the cities of Galilee, where, according to his 
usual custom, he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, and 
confirmed the doctrines he delivered with astonishing miracles. 

In one of the cities through which he passed, he found " a man 
full of leprosy, who seeing Jesus, fell on his face, and besought 
him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." 
Luke, v. 12. 

It was the custom in Judea for the priests to banish from soci- 
ety those persons who were afflicted with the contagious species 
of leprosy. The disease of this person, therefore, was of a less 
pestilent kind, as he was suffered to enjoy the conversation of 
men. His case, however, excited the pity of the compassionate 
Jesus, who immediately cleansed him, ordered him to repair to 
Jerusalem, and, after showing himself to the priest, offer the gifts 
commanded by Moses, giving him the same admonition he had 
done to others, namely, not to tell any man what he had done for 
him. But the blessing he had received was so great and unex- 
pected, that, instead of concealing, he published every where 



MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 

[Page 110.] 




K When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me ; 
for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 

K For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which 
they had taken." — 'Luke v. 8, 9. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 113 

the great things Jesus had done for him; which brought such 
crowds to the Son of God, that he was obliged to retire from 
Capernaum into the wilderness, to refresh his body with rest, 
and his spirit with prayer and meditation. 

The generality of commentators suppose that this leper, and 
the other mentioned in the foregoing chapter, are one and the 
same person; but this is a mistake. The former was cured in 
the fields, the later in the city. After cleansing the first, Jesus 
went to Capernaum, and healed the centurion's servant: but 
after curing the latter, he retired into the wilderness to shun the 
prodigious crowds, which soon gathered round him, from the 
leper's publishing every where the miracle Jesus had wrought 
for him. 

If the curious should inquire why our blessed Saviour so often 
commanded the people to conceal his miracles? we answer them: 
his modesty and humility would not suffer that his works should 
have the least appearance of ostentation; nor the Jews to have 
the least pretence for accusing him of " seeking his own glory." 
Nor was it proper, at this time, to irritate too greatly the Scribes 
and Pharisees. He well knew that in a certain determinate 
space of time they would bring about what had been determined 
by Providence concerning him. In the mean time, "he was to 
work the works of him that sent him, while it is day," (John, ix. 
4,) and to propagate his gospel with the greater facility, both 
among the Jews and Gentiles; which could not have been so 
conveniently performed, if the greatness of his miracles had once 
provoked the malice and envy of his enemies, to exert their 
utmost power against him. He likewise knew the mad, capri- 
cious humor of the multitude, and had reason to apprehend 
"that they would come and take him away by force, to make 
him king," (John, vi. 15,) if all his miracles had been blazed 
abroad, before he had sufficiently instructed them in the spiritual 
nature of his kingdom, and that his throne was not to be estab- 
lished in the earthly, but in the heavenly Jerusalem. 

From these instances we see that the blessed Jesus did not, 
without sufficient reason, desire his miracles to be concealed. 
The fame of this single miracle being spread through the neigh- 
boring countries, brought such multitudes of people to Caper- 
naum, that, as we have already observed, he was obliged to 
retire into a solitary part of the neighboring wilderness. Nor 
could he long enjoy the repose of tranquillity he sought, even in 
this thirsty waste; the people soon discovered the place of his 
retreat, and flocked to him from every quarter. 

Our blessed Lord, finding all his endeavors to conceal himself 
in the desert would be in vain, ordered his disciples to accom- 
any him to the other side of the lake; upon which a certain 
cribe, who happened to be present, declared he would follow 



114 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

him; but Jesus, who well knew that his desire was only to gain 
the profits and advantages of an earthly kingdom, which he sup- 
posed the Messiah would establish, told him, if he intended noth- 
ing more by following him, than to improve his worldly fortune, 
he would find himself wretchedly mistaken. " The foxes have 
holes," saith the blessed Jesus, to this teacher of Israel, 64 and the 
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where 
to lay his head." Matt. viii. 20. 

The disciples having prepared the ship, took on board their 
Master, and departed for the other side of the lake, attended by 
many boats full of people, who were desirous of hearing his 
heavenly discourses, and of being spectators of his astonishing 
works. But Jesus, being fatigued with the labors of the day, 
sat himself down at the stern of the ship, and fell asleep. 

The weather, which had till now been calm and sptptip. sud- 
denly changed. A terrible storm came on, and the rising waves 
dashed impetuously against the ship, threatening every moment 
to bury them all in the bowels of the deep. The darkness of 
the night increased the horrors of the tempest. Now they were 
carried on the top of the mountainous wave, and seemed to touch 
the skies; then plunged to the bottom of the deep, while the 
foaming billows roared horribly above them. In vain the disci- 
ples exerted their utmost strength; the storm continued to in- 
crease, and baffled all the efforts of human strength. The waves 
broke over the ship, the waters rushed in, and she began to sink. 
All hopes of escaping were vanished; despair seized every indi- 
vidual; and they were on the brink of perishing, when they ran 
to Jesus, crying out, "Master, Master, we perish!" Their vehe- 
ment cries roused him from his sleep. He raised his hand, so 
often employed in acts of mercy and benevolence; and with a 
stern and awful voice, rebuked the boisterous element. The ra- 
ging sea instantly obeyed his command. The aerial torrent 
stopped short in its impetuous course, and became silent as the 
grave, while the mountainous waves sunk at once into their 
beds, and the surface of the deep became as smooth as polished 
marble. 

The disciples had before seen their great Master perform 
many miracles; and therefore had abundant reason to rely wholly 
on his power and goodness. They should have considered that 
he who could, by his word restore the sick, and bring the inhabi- 
tants of the sea to their nets, could with the same ease have sup- 
ported them on the surface of the deep, had the ship sunk be- 
neath them, and carried them safe to the place whither they 
were going. But they seemed to have forgotten the power of 
their Master; and when human assistance failed, to have aban- 
doned all hopes of life. The blessed Jesus, therefore, very justly 



CHRIST ASLEEP IN THE STORM. 

[Page 114.] 




LIFE OF CHRIST. 



117 



rebuked them. "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" — 
Why should ye doubt of my power to protect you ? The voyage 
was undertaken at my command; and therefore you should have 
been confident that I would not suffer you to perish in it. 

It is indeed strange that the disciples should have been so 
remarkably terrified during the storm, and after it to make this 
remarkable reflection: "What manner of man is this, that even 
the winds and the sea obey him ?" Matt. viii. 27. 

But it should be remembered, that the terror of the storm 
had deprived them of all presence of mind ; so that they did not 
recollect the divine power of their Master, during the fury of the 
tempest; and the transition from a terrible storm, to the most 
perfect calm, was so quick and astonishing, that they uttered 
this reflection before the confusion in their minds was over. 

Soon after the storm was allayed, they arrived in the country 
of Gadara; and on their landing, two men possessed with devils 
came from the tombs, to meet Jesus. One of them, who was 
more furious than the other, had been often bound with chains 
and fetters, but to no purpose, being always broken with great 
fury; so that no man attempted farther to restrain him. Being 
therefore at liberty, he shunned the society of men, wandering 
day and night in desert places, among the sepulchres or caverns 
where the dead were deposited, crying and making the most 
dismal complaints, and cutting himself with stones. 

The disciples were terrified at the approach of these furious 
mortals; but Jesus soorl dissipated their fears, commanding, 
while the men were at a distance, the devils to come out of them. 
The heavenly mandate was no sooner given, than they fell 
on their faces, crying out, " What have I to do with thee, Jesus, 
thou Son of the most high God?" (Mark v. 7.) "Art thou 
come hither to torment us before the time?" (Matt. viii. 29.) 
"I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not!" (Mark 
v. 7.) The apostate spirits well knew the power of the Son 
of God, and trembled lest he should immediately cast them 
into the torments prepared for them, and not suffer them to con- 
tinue roving through the earth till the day of judgment, when 
they should be condemned to eternal punishments in the sight of 
the whole creation. 

Jesus being willing that the torments suffered by these miser- 
able men should be known, before he healed them, asked one 
of the devils his name, who answered, " Legion, for we are 
many." (Mark v. 9.) begging at the same time, that he would 
not command them to repair into the deep, or bottomless 
pit, but suffer them to enter a herd of swine, feeding at a 
distance. 

How subtle are the wiles of the devil! The power of the 
Son of God he knew was not to be resisted; but he could not 



118 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



help envying the benevolent miracles he had wrought for the 
sons of men; and was therefore willing to prevent as much as 
possible, their good effects on the miserable people of this coun- 
try. This was the true reason why he begged leave to enter 
the herd of swine; he knew, if he could obtain that permission, 
he could destroy them; and this he hoped would render our 
blessed Saviour odious to the wicked inhabitants of Gadara. 

Though Jesus well knew his crafty design, yet he permitted 
the devils to enter the swine, that his disciples and others who 
were with him, might be fully convinced these unhappy persons 
were really possessed by apostate spirits; and at the same time 
give them a terrible instance of their power, when free from all 
restraint. 

The divine permission was no sooner granted, than the spec- 
tators beheld, at a distance, the torments these poor creatures 
suffered; with what amazing rapidity they ran to the confines of 
the lake, leaped from the precipices into the sea, " and perished 
in the waters." While the persons who a moment before were 
raving and cutting themselves in the most shocking manner, be- 
came at once meek and composed, having recovered entirely 
the exercise of their reason. 

The keepers of the herd, terrified at this astonishing miracle, 
ran into the city, publishing in every part, the cure of the men 
possessed with the devils, and the destruction of the swine. 

This surprising report threw the inhabitants into the greatest 
consternation: they left the city to be spectators of so wonderful 
an event; but when they saw the men who had been possessed, 
sitting at the feet of Jesus, decently clothed, and in their right 
minds, their fear was increased. For knowing they had tres- 
passed in keeping the swine, which was contrary to the law of 
Moses, they dreaded a more severe punishment; and being igno- 
rant of the goodness of Jesus, though he had given them so re- 
markable a proof of it, in the cure of these wretched mortals, 
they besought him that he would leave their country. 

There prevailed a custom among the heathens, when any 
illustrious hero had delivered his country from his enemies, or 
from any other great evil, to erect lofty columns to his memory; 
his statue was seen in every place; altars blazed to his glory; 
they honored him with the high appellation of Saviour; and 
thought nothing, not even divine honors, too great to confer upon 
him. But when Christ had removed a monster from the Gada- 
renes, more formidable and fearful than any in heathen history, 
even a "legion of devils," and rendered the way, by which no 
man could pass before, secure from danger; instead of being re- 
ceived by them as a Saviour, and as a God, with the acclama- 
tions and hosannas of the people, he was besought to depart out 
of their coasts. Stupid people ! they had, indeed, lost their herd 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



119 



of swine; but surely the valuable gift they had received, in two 
of their countrymen and fellow-creatures being delivered from 
the tyranny of Satan, was better than the cattle on a thousand 
hills, and merited, at least their thanks and acknowledgments ! 

The stupid request of the Gadarenes was complied with by 
the blessed Jesus, who, entering the ship, returned to the country 
from whence he came, leaving them a valuable pledge of his 
love, and us a noble pattern of perseverance in well-doing, even 
when our kindnesses are condemned, or requited with injuries. 
He would not suffer the persons dispossessed to accompany him, 
though they earnestly requested it; but ordered them to stay in 
their own country, as a standing monument both of his power 
ond goodness. " Go home to thy friends," said the compassion- 
ate Jesus to one of them, " and tell them how great things the 
Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 
Mark v. 19. 

We cannot but remark in this place, that we have here a 
fuller display of the tyranny and power of the devil, than in any 
other part of scripture; and, therefore, we may oppose it to the 
loose scoffs, and recommend it to the serious attention of those 
infidels and thoughtless sinners, who like the Pharisees and Sad- 
ducees of old, whe«u exhorted to abandon their evil courses, from 
a consideration of the power of Satan, and the dread of eternal 
torments, made a mock at both, esteeming them nothing more 
than religious fables, calculated to keep an ignorant world in 
awe. But with regard to themselves, they vainly think their 
minds too well furnished with wisdom, and their discernment too 
penetrating, to believe any thing of the flames of the bottomless 
pit, and the malice of the prince who sways the sceptre of that 
horrid place; esteeming him a more mild and generous governor 
than he is represented in this miracle. But could they be per- 
suaded to attend seriously to the miserable spectacle drawn by 
the Evangelist, of a wretched mortal, naked, dwelling in tombs, 
crying out day and night, cutting himself with stones, furious, 
fierce, destructive; surely their scoffs and idle mockeries would 
be changed into compassion, and a watchful care of themselves. 
This surely common prudence would dictate. But if they will 
deride, and still disbelieve, a short space of time, perhaps a single 
moment, will convince them of their fatal error; and dreadful 
experience force them to acknowledge the greatness of the ty- 
ranny, the bitterness and malice of this prince of darkness, 
against the souls of the sons of men. 

May that blindness of mind, and obduracy of heart, be remo- 
ved, that so they may know and acknowledge the salvation of 
God, even Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life! 

14 



120 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Our Lord proceeds in acts of mercy and benevolence, — Adds Mat- 
thew to the number of his Disciples* — Casts out an evil Spirit. — 
Passes again through Galilee. — Selects twelve from among his 
Disciples, as his constant followers and companions, and harangues 
the multitude in an excellent discourse. 

The arrival of our Saviour and his disciples at Capernaum, a 
city of Galilee, was no sooner published, than such throngs of 
people were gathered together, that the house could not con- 
tain them, nor even the court before it. He however, preached 
the words of eternal life to the listening audience, among 
whom were many Pharisees and doctors of the law, who, from 
the fame of his miracles, were come from all quarters to hear 
him. 

He not only addressed them in the most nervous and pa- 
thetic manner, in order to inculcate the doctrines he delive- 
red; but also performed such astonishing miracles as ought to 
have removed all their scruples with regard to the truth of his 
mission. 

Among other instances he gave of his divine power, was that 
of restoring a man to perfect health, who had long been afflicted 
with the palsy, and was reduced by that terrible disease to the 
most melancholy condition, being unable to move any member 
of his body, but seemed rather an emaciated carcass than a 
man. This miserable object was supported in his bed by four 
persons, who being unable to enter by the door, on account 
of the multitude, carried him to the top of the house, which, 
like the other roofs in that country, was flat, and had a battle- 
ment round, according to the direction given by Moses. Deut. 
xvii. 8. 

On these roofs there was a kind of trap-door, by which they 
came out of the houses upon the roofs, where they spent a con- 
siderable part of the day. It was also common to have a flight 
of stairs from the garden to the roof: and by these the persons 
seem to have carried the sick of the palsy; but finding the door 
fastened, forced it open, or uncovered the roof, and through the 
opening let down by ropes the sick of the palsy, lying on his bed, 
into the midst of the company, before Jesus, who seeing the 
faith of the friends of this afflicted person, he had compassion 
on him, and spake aloud, "Son, be of good cheer! thy sins are 
forgiven thee." 

The pride of the Scribes taking offence at this saying, cried 
out, this man speaketh blasphemy ; for he appropriates that to 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



121 



himself, which is solely the province of Omnipotence. " Who 
can forgive sins, but God only?" They were ignorant that the 
person who uttered such gracious words was the Son of God; 
and consequently, had the power of forgiving the sins of the 
human race. 

But our Lord who had recourse to the most secret recesses of 
the heart, and was willing to shew them that he was really en- 
dued with the Spirit of God, said to them, "Wherefore think 
ye evil in your hearts? For whether is it easier to say to the 
sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, 
take up thy bed, and walk?" These were questions beyond the 
abilities of the haughty Scribes to answer, and they held their 
peace. The blessed Jesus then added, that the miracle he was 
going to perform would sufficiently demonstrate that he had not 
usurped what did not in the strictest manner belong to him. 
And turning himself from these bigoted teachers of Israel, to- 
wards the sick of the palsy, he said unto him, "Arise, take up 
thy bed, and go unto thine own house." Matt* ix. 6. 

Nor was this divine mandate any sooner given, than the man 
was restored to his former health and strength, and to the 
astonishment of all present, rose, took up his bed, and departed 
to his own house, glorifying God. And all the people, when 
they saw this great work, expressed thehigest degree of surprise, 
mixed with admiration, for the great honor the Almighty had 
conferred on human nature. " They glorified God, who had 
given such power unto men." 

But with regard to the Scribes and Pharisees, though they 
must have been confounded at this miracle, yet they still con- 
tinued in their unbelief; an instance, which should awaken in 
us the most serious thoughts, as it abundantly demonstrates, that 
the palsy of the soul is a much more deplorable disease than the 
palsy of the body. 

The blessed Jesus having wrought this miracle, repaired to 
the sea-side, and taught a multitude of people. What the sub- 
ject of his sermon was, the Evangelists have not told us; but 
it was, doubtless, like the rest, calculated to promote the eternal 
welfare of mankind. 

His discource being ended, he returned to the city; and in 
his way saw Matthew, or Levi, the son of Alpheus, a rich pub- 
lican, sitting in his office, where the customs were levied, at 
the port of Capernaum, whom he ordered to follow him Mat- 
thew immediately obeyed the summons, and followed the 
Saviour of the world, to pursue a far more honorable and 
important employment, being afterwards both an apostle and 
Evangelist. 

A few days after his calling, he made a splendid entertain- 
ment for his Master, inviting all the publicans he knew; hoping 



122 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



that by hearing the heavenly conversation of Christ, they might 
also repent, and embrace the doctrines of the gospel. 

The self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees, who considered all 
men as sinners except'themselves, especially the publicans, were 
highly offended that one who called himself a prophet, should so 
far demean himself, as to be seen in the company of such men: 
and asked his disciples with an air of insolence, in the hearing 
of all the guests, how their Master could sit down at the same 
table with publicans and sinners? 

Our Lord replied to this artful question, that the sick only 
had need of a physician, and desired them to reflect seriously 
on the prophet Hosea's declaration: " I will have mercy, and 
not sacrifice." The turning sinners into the paths of righteous- 
ness, which is the highest act of benevolence, is far more ac- 
ceptable to the Almighty, than all the ceremones of the law of 
Moses, so highly magnified by your fraternity; who, on many 
occasions, observ e them at the expense of charity ; adding, " I 
am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 
The repentance of the righteous, is not so much the object of my 
attention as the conversion of sinners. 

This answer, however, satisfactory to an unprejudiced person, 
was far from being so to the Scribes and Pharisees, who, joining 
with some of John's disciples, then present, returned to Mat- 
thew's house, and demanded of Jesus why Ins disciples wholly 
neglected to fast, a duty often performed by the rulers of Israel, 
and the disciples of John? To this the blessed Jesus replied, 
it is not a proper season for the friends of the bridegroom to 
fast and afflict themselves, while they enjoy his company: "but 
the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away 
from them, and then they shall fast." The various calamities 
and afflictions that shall attend them, after the departure of their 
Master, shall cause them to fast, which they shall repeat as 
often as the circumstances of distress and danger with which 
they are surrounded shall require. And added, that to have 
obliged his disciples to observe the precepts of frequent absti- 
nence at a time when he was employing them to preach the 
gospel, by which all the legal ceremonies of the law were to 
be abolished, would have been as absurd, as to sew a piece of 
new cloth upon a rotten garment, which would only make the 
rent the worse; or to put new wine into old leathern bottles, 
which, on the first fermentation of the liquor would burst. In- 
dicating, that the old corrupt nature of man would not admit 
of a thorough reformation being made at once: that infant vir- 
tue must not immediately be put to the greatest trials, lest it be 
destroyed by the severity of the exercise. 

During this controversy between our Lord and the haughty 
Scribes and Pharisees, in Matthew's house, Jairus, a ruler of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



123 



the synagogue, came running to him in all the agonies of grief; 
and in the presence of the whole company, fell on the ground 
before him, beseeching that he would come and heal his daugh- 
ter, who lay at the point of death. 

When did the beneficent Jesus deny his gracious assistance 
to those who implored it of him? He immediately arose, and 
followed the ruler towards his house, surrounded by a great 
multitude of people, who were desirous of seeing so great a 
miracle. 

But as he passed through the streets, a woman, who had for 
twelve years been afflicted with an issue, or flux of blood, and 
had spent her whole substance on physicians to no purpose, 
"came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: for 
she said within herself, If I may but touch his clothes I shall be 
well." Nor was she deceived; for no sooner had she touched 
the border of the garment of the Son of God, than "her issue 
of blood dried up:" and she felt, by the return of her health and 
strength, and other agreeable sensations that accompany such 
sudden changes, from painful diseases to perfect health, that the 
cure was absolutely complete. 

But this transaction could not be concealed: the blessed Jesus 
knew the whole, and her secret thoughts, before she put them in 
practice; and, pleased with the opinion this woman had enter- 
tained both of his power and goodness, would not, by any means, 
suffer it to pass unapplauded. Accordingly, he turned himself 
about, and asked, "Who touched me?" He well knew the per- 
son: but asked this question for the fuller manifestation of the 
woman's faith, and that he might have an opportunity of instruc- 
ting and comforting her. 

His disciples being ignorant of what had passed, were sur- 
prised at the question : " Thou seest," said they to their Master, 
"the multitude thronging and pressing thee, and sayest thou, 
Who touched me?" They did not distinguish between the spir- 
itual and corporeal touch, nor knew that such efficacious virtue 
had gone out of their Master. Jesus, however, persisted in 
knowing who it was that had done the thing: and the woman,, 
finding it vain to conceal her action any longer, came to him, 
trembling, and told him all. Perhaps the uncleanness of her 
distemper was the reason of her fear, thinking he would be of- 
fended, even at her touching the hem of his garment. But the 
divine physician, far from being angry, spake to her in the 
kindest manner, and commended her faith, on which account 
he had consented to heal her plague: "Daughter, be of good 
comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole." Matt. ix. 22. 

Such a miraculous incident must, doubtless, have greatly 
strengthened the rulers faith; for behold, a virtue, little inferior 
to that of raising the dead, issues from the border of Christ's 



124 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



garment, and heals a disease, which, for the space of twelve 
years, had baffled all the precepts of the healing art, and defied 
the power of medicine. Indeed, the faith of this ruler had 
great need of the strongest confirmations; for news was brought 
him, that his daughter was even now dead ; and therefore it was 
needless for him to give any further trouble to Jesus, not in 
the least suspecting that he had power to recall the fleeting 
spirit, and to reanimate a breathless carcass. 

This message was a terrible blow to the affectionate parent. 
His only daughter, who, a few days before, was in the bloom 
of youth, was now a pale and lifeless corpse ; and with her all 
his joys and comforts were fled. But Jesus, commiserating his 
grief, desired him to be comforted, promising that his daughter 
should be made whole. 

On his coming to the ruler's house, he found it full of mourn- 
ers, who made terrible lamentations; a sufficient demonstration 
that the damsel was really dead. And, accordingly, when our 
blessed Saviour desired the mourners to cease their funeral cere- 
monies, as "the maid was not dead, but sleeping," they "laughed 
him to scorn." 

It is necessary to remark, in this place, that the Jews, when 
they spoke of a person's death, styled it "sleep," to intimate 
their belief that his spirit existed in the happy scenes of para- 
dise, and their hopes of a future resurrection to life eternal. — 
But the blessed Jesus used the word with remarkable propriety, 
to signify, that though she was now locked in the cold embraces 
of death, yet he was going to release her from the power of 
the king of terrors, with the same ease as a person is awaked 
from sleep. Thus our blessed Saviour, in the very manner of 
performing a miracle, modestly declined the honor that would 
undoubtedly result from a work so greatly superior to all the 
powers of the sons of men. 

Having thus briefly addressed the mourners, he entered the 
chamber where the damsel was lying, but suffered none to follow 
him, except Peter, James, and John; together with the father 
and mother of the damsel. Probably his reason for suffering 
these only to be spectators of so stupendous a work, was, that 
they might have an opportunity of examining the whole trans- 
action in the most careful manner, and be thence enabled, after- 
wards, to report it upon the fullest conviction, and with every 
circumstance of credibility. 

The blessed Jesus now approached the body, took her by the 
hand, and, with a gentle voice, said, " Maid, arise I" The hea- 
venly command was instantly obeyed: the damsel arose, as from 
a sleep, and with all the appearance of health and vigor; for 
Jesus commanded to give her something to eat: a plain proof 
that she did not appear in the weak and languishing condition 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



125 



of a person worn out with disease, or even like one who had 
fainted away; a circumstance that abundantly proves the great- 
ness and perfection of the miracle. It is, therefore, no wonder 
that her parents should be astonished at so stupendous a work, 
the fame of which was soon spread through all the neighboring 
country; though Jesus, who was in every sense above praise, 
and therefore never courted it, had strictly charged them that 
they should tell no man what was done. 

These instances of power did the blessed Jesus display, to 
convince the world, that those who die in him are sot dead; 
and that he hath the keys of life and death. Those also of 
the present age, who believe that the soul sleeps with the body 
till the resurrection, would do well to consider the expression 
of the Evangelist, "Her spirit came again," Luke, viii. 55; 
which sufficiently shows that the soul exists separately, when 
the body is laid in the chambers of the grave. 

Having performed this benevolent miracle, our blessed Saviour 
left the ruler's house, and was followed through the streets by 
two blind men, imploring assistance; nor did they implore in 
vain. The Redeemer of mankind was, and still is, always ready 
to grant the petitions of those who apply to him for relief. Ac- 
cordingly, he was no sooner entered into the house, to avoid the 
thronging of the multitude, than he touched their eyes, and said, 
"According to your faith, be it unto you." Matt. ix. 29; and im- 
mediately the valuable gift of sight was bestowed upon them. 

The blind men were so overjoyed at beholding the light, that 
though our Saviour charged them to keep the miracle a secret, 
they published his fame in every part of the country, being un- 
willing to conceal what, in gratitude for so great a mercy, they 
thought themselves obliged to divulge. 

The men who had thus miraculously received their sight, being 
departed, the multitude brought to him a " dumb man possessed 
with a devil." So moving a sight could not fail of attracting a 
compassionate regard from the Saviour of the world, who, being 
never weary of well-doing, immediately cast out the apostate 
spirit; on which the dumb man recovered the use of his speech, 
and spoke in a very rational manner to the multitude, who, with 
one voice, declared, that such wondrous works were never 
wrought by any of the old prophets. " It was never so seen in 
Israel." Matt. ix. 33. 

These works did not remove the prejudices of the Pharisees, 
who, being unable to deny the miracle, insinuated that he did it 
by a power received from Beelzebub, "the prince of the devils." 
A poor pretence indeed, which did not. escape the animadversion 
it deserved from the Saviour of the world, as we shall see in a 
succeeding chapter, Well might the prophet Isaiah cry out, in 



126 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



a prophetic ecstacy, "Who hath believed our report? x\nd to 
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" 

But all their calumnies could not provoke the meek and mer- 
ciful Jesus to cease from performing these compassionate offices 
for the children of men. On the contrary, he exerted himself 
still more and more, to promote the prosperity and salvation of 
the whole human race. Accordingly, he left Capernaum, and 
traveled through the country, in search of miserable objects, on 
whom he might confer happiness and peace: visiting "all the 
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching 
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness, and every 
disease among the people." Matt. ix. 35. 

In his return from this tour to Capernaum, he was attended by 
a great number of people, who expressed a more than common 
desire to hear the doctrine of the gospel. An incident abun- 
dantly sufficient to engage the attention of this divine teacher, 
who was always careful to cultivate the latent seeds of virtue, 
and cherish the least appearance of piety and religion. 

It was not this desire of the people alone that excited his com- 
passion towards them: he well knew they were wholly destitute 
of spiritual teachers; for the Scribes .and Pharisees, who ought to 
have instructed them, were blind, perverse, and lazy guides, who, 
instead of seeking the glory of the Almighty, made it their whole 
business to support and augment their own. They magnified the 
ritual ceremonies and traditions, but took no care to inspire the 
people with a love for virtue. "To do justice, love mercy, and 
walk humbly with their God," were no parts of their doctrine. 
The small appearance of religion they entertained was wholly 
hypocritical; and the disputes carried on with so much bitterness, 
between the factions of the Pharisees and Sadducees, distracted 
the minds of the people. 

The inhabitants of Judea were truly in a deplorable situation, 
which called loudly for the compassion of the Son of God, who 
always regarded the descendants of Jacob with the most tender 
affection. He saw the sheep of Israel scattered on the barren 
wastes of error and superstition; without a shepherd to lead them 
to the heavenly pastures of the law and the prophets. He saw; 
he commiserated their distress; and resolved to provide some 
remedy for it. Accordingly he directed his apostles to intercede 
with the Almighty, who, by his servants, the prophets, had sown 
the seeds of piety and virtue in the minds of the Jews, that he 
would not suffer the rich harvest to be lost, for want of laborers. 
" The harvest," said the blessed Jesus to his disciples, " truly is 
plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the 
Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his har- 
vest." Matt. ix. 37, 38. 

To these gracious acts he added the most powerful of all inter- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



127 



cessions to the throne of grace, his own prevailing prayer. Andy 
accordingly, ascended to the top of the mountain, and there spent 
the night in making the most powerful petitions, in behalf of 
"the lost sheep of Israel," to his heavenly Father. 

Having spent the night in this pious exercise, he lost no time 
in putting his beneficent intentions in execution; for no sooner 
had darkness withdrawn her sable veil, and the blushing rays of 
the morning adorned the chambers of the east, than this benevo- 
lent Redeemer of mankind called his disciples to him, and chose 
twelve, "whom he named apostles, to be with him: and that he 
might send them forth to preach." He ordered them to be with _ 
him, that they might learn from his own mouth the doctrines 
they were to preach to the whole world ; that they might " see 
his glory," the transcendent glory of the virtues which adorned 
his human life; and that they might be witnesses of all the won- 
drous works he should perform, during his residence in the vale 
of misery, and by which his mission from the courts of heaven- 
was to be fully demonstrated. 

These twelve persons, thus qualified, were to supply the people 
with that spiritual food they so greatly wanted, both while their 
master continued here below, and after his ascension to the right 
hand of Power. 

Having ordained them to their respective offices, he sent them 
out by two and two, into the most distant parts of Judea, to 
preach there the glad tidings of the gospel, and prepare the way 
for their Master, the great Shepherd of Israel. 

And that nothing might be wanting to render their preaching 
acceptable to the people, and confirm the important doctrines 
they delivered, he invested them with full power to cure all dis- 
eases, cast out devils, and even to raise the dead. 

Perhaps the number of the twelve apostles was fixed upon 
rather than any other, to show that God intended, by their minis- 
try, to gather together the scattered remnant of the twelve tribes 
of Israel. But be that as it may, these twelve apostles constantly 
continued with him from the time of their election, till he offered' 
himself a sacrifice on the cross, for the sins of mankind, never 
departing from him, unless by his own appointment. 

All these persons being illiterate Galileans, and at first desti- 
tute of the qualifications necessary in the discharge of their duty, 
integrity alone excepted, were the most unlikely persons in the 
world to confound the wisdom of the wise, baffle the power of the 
m ighty} overturn the many false religions which then flourished 
every where, under the protection of the civil government; and, 
in short, to reform the manners of mankind, then universally cor- 
rupted. 

Had the choice of instruments for so grand an undertaking 
been committed to human prudence, such, doubtless, would have 

15 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



been chosen, as were remarkable for learning, strong reasoning, 
and prevailing eloquence. But behold the wisdom of God, infi- 
nitely superior to that of man, acted very differently; for the 
treasure of the gospel was committed to earthen vessels, that the 
excellency of its power might in all countries appear to be of God. 

Accordingly, the religion which these illiterate Galileans 
taught through the world, exhibited a far j aster notion of things 
than the Grecian and Roman philosophers were able to attain, 
though their lives were spent in study and contemplation. Hence, 
by its own intrinsic splendor, as well as by the external glory of 
the miracles that accompanied it, this religion sufficiently ap- 
peared to be wholly original and divine. 

Besides, its truth and dignity were sufficiently attested, by the 
remarkable success that attended it. It was received every 
where by the bulk of mankind with the highest applause, as 
something they had hitherto been seeking in vain; while the 
maxims and precepts of the philosophers seldom spread farther 
than their respective schools. 

It was, therefore, with the highest wisdom that the foundations 
of the church were laid in the labors of a few illiterate fishermen, 
for it demonstrated, with irresistible evidence, that the immense 
fabric was at first raised, and is still sustained, not by the arm of 
flesh, but purely by the hand of the Almighty. 

After appointing the twelve apostles, he came down from the 
mountain, and was joyfully received by the multitudes of people 
who were waiting for him in the plain, and pressed to touch him; 
well knowing that if they could only touch the border of his gar- 
ment, they should be healed of whatever distemper they were 
afflicted with. A sufficient reason why they were continually 
waiting for him, and were willing to accompany him, even into 
the remotest corners of the wilderness. 

The preaching and miracles of our Lord were not attended to 
by the low and vulgar only ; persons of the first rank and charac- 
ter came from distant parts of the country, to converse with him, 
hear his doctrine, and be spectators of his wonderful works. It 
therefore evidently appears, that persons of all ranks were desi- 
rous of following him; and their desire could be founded on nothing 
but the truth of his miracles. 

After healing all the sick among the multitude, he turned to- 
wards his disciples, and delivered a divine discourse, something 
like that he had before preached to them on the mountain : but 
in the former, he only pronounced blessings, whereas, in the lat- 
ter, he added curses also; and in this principally it differs from 
that recorded by St. Matthew: I shall therefore only select a few 
passages from the sermon now delivered, as I have given a larger 
paraphrase on the former. 

"Wo unto you that are rich, for ye have received your conso- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



lation." Luke, vi. 24. Riches, considered in themselves, have 
no tendency to render us the objects of the Almighty's hatred, 
unless accompanied with those vices which too often flow from 
an opulent fortune; as luxury, covetousness, and the like. The 
wo, therefore, is here denounced against such only as are con- 
taminated with these vices; for those who make a proper use 
of their wealth, and possess the virtues which should accompany 
affluence, have no share in the malediction. 

"Wo unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger." The pain 
ye shall suffer in a future life shall he sharp and excruciating. 
The opportunities you neglected of doing good to your afflicted 
brethren in this life, shall then be remembered with the most 
poignant grief, and bewailed with the most bitter lamentations. 

"Wo unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep." 
This malediction of our blessed Saviour is not inconsistent with 
the apostle's precept, which commands Christians always to re- 
joice. Neither is the mirth, against which the wo is here de- 
nounced, to be understood of that constant cheerfulness of tem- 
per which arises in the breast of true Christians, from the com- 
fortable and cheerful doctrine with which they are enlightened 
by the gospel, the assurance they have of reconciliation with 
God, the hope they have of everlasting life, and the pleasure 
they enjoy in the practice of virtue and the other duties of 
religion; but it relates to that turbulent, carnal mirth, that ex- 
cessive levity and vanity of spirit, which arises not from any solid 
foundation, but from immoderate sensual pleasures, or those vain 
amusements of life in which the giddy and the gay contrive to 
spend their time; that sort of mirth which dissipates thought, 
leaves no time for consideration, and gives them an utter aver- 
sion to all serious reflection. Persons who constantly indulge 
themselves in this kind of mirth shall weep and mourn eternally, 
when they are excluded from the joys of heaven, and banished 
for ever from the presence of God, by the light of whose coun- 
tenance all the righteous are enlivened, and made transcen- 
dently happy. 

" Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so 
did their fathers to the false prophets." Wo unto you, if by 
propagating such doctrines as encourage men in sin, you shall 
gain to yourselves the applause and flattery of the generality 
of men; for thus in old times did the false prophets and decei- 
vers, who, accommodating their doctrines to the lusts and pas- 
sions of men, gained the applause of men, but iucurred the 
wrath and displeasure of a just and all seeing God. 



130 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER X. 

Continuation of our Lord's glorious doctrines, beneficent acts, and 
astonishing miracles, wrought in confirmation of the Divinity of 
his mission, and the extending of his Heavenly Kingdom. 

The divine preacher having closed this excellent sermon, he 
repaired to Capernaum, and was met by certain messengers from 
a centurion, desiring him to come and heal a servant, who was 
dear to him, and ready to die. 

This centurion, from the account given of him by the Evan- 
gelist, seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion, 
as he was a lover of the sons of Jacob, and had erected for 
them a place of worship; and, accordingly, the inhabitants of 
Capernaum strongly espoused his cause on this occasion, saying, 
"that he was worthy for whom he should do this. For he 
loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." Luke, vii. 
4,5. 

There was not the least danger that this petition would be re- 
jected by the blessed Jesus, who sought all occasions of doing 
good to the children of men. Accordingly, he very readily 
accompanied the messengers; but before he came to the house, 
he was met by some of the centurion's friends, who expressed 
the high idea that officer entertained of his power, and desired 
that he would not take the trouble of coming to his house, as 
a word was abundantly sufficient to perform the cure. At this 
message, Jesus turned himself about, and said to the multitude, 
"I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in 
Israel." Luke, vii. 9. 

The persons having delivered their message, returned to the 
house and found the servant, who had been sick, perfectly re- 
covered. 

Many persons have thought that this miracle, and that men- 
tioned in Matt. viii. are the same; but this is a mistake. The 
centurion, in the former, came in person, but in the latter, the 
petition was sent by the elders of Capernaum. There is not 
the least hint in the first miracle, that the centurion was a prose- 
lyte; but he, in the second, is said to have been a lover of the 
Jewish nation, an<J to have built them a synagogue. Several 
other particulars, which prove these miracles to have been 
really different, will easily occur to the reader, and therefore I 
shall not here enumerate them; what has been said will, I pre- 
sume, be sufficient to remove any objection that may be offered 
against my considering them as different transactions. 

Having thus miraculously healed the centurion's servant, he 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



131 



repaired to Peter's house to eat bread; but the multitude came 
again together, and surrounded the house in a very tumultuous 
manner, demanding, in all probability, that he would heal their 
sick: and it was not without difficulty, they were dispersed by 
his friends. 

The multitude being dispersed, Jesus called unto him the 
twelve apostles he had before chosen, and conferred on them the 
power of working miracles, in confirmation of the doctrines they 
were appointed to preach, and delivered them such instructions 
as he thought necessary, to enable them to discharge the duties 
of this important commission. 

"Go," said their heavenly Master, "and preach, saying, the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand." Publish in every corner of Ju- 
dea, the glad tidings of the gospel, and the near approach of 
the great Messiah's kingdom; not a temporal, but a spiritual em- 
pire, consisting of righteousness and peace. 

To inure them to those hardships and dangers which were to 
attend them in their preaching, after the death of their Master, 
our Lord forbade them to provide any thing for their journey; 
teaching them to rely wholly on the providence of God, for 
support in every distress, and to have recourse to his protection 
in every danger. 

Our Lord's disciples had, perhaps, flattered themselves with 
the pleasing expectation, that the glad tidings they were going 
to publish, and the miraculous cures they were enabled to per- 
form, would procure them an honorable reception wherever they 
came. Their Master, however, told them the event would not 
in any manner answer their expectations; but that they were 
every where to be despised, persecuted, delivered into the hands 
of the rulers, and punished as wicked men. But, at the same 
time he promised them the aid of the Almighty, and gave them 
instructions for their behavior in every particular. He added, 
that those who rejected their message should be treated with 
severity, by the great Judge of air the earth; but those who 
received them kindly, and gave even a cup of cold water to 
the least of his disciples, for their Master's sake, should not fail 
of receiving a large reward. 

Having received this commission, the apostles visited all the 
parts of Palestine, where the Jews inhabited, preaching the 
gospel and the doctrine of repentance, working miracles for its 
confirmation, and particularly healed the sick, while our blessed 
Saviour continued the course of his ministry in Galilee. 

The apostles being returned, from their tour, Jesus went to 
Nain, a town situated near Endor, about two miles south of 
Mount Tabor, attended by many of his disciples, and a great 
multitude of people. 

On their coming to the entrance of the city, a melancholy 



132 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



scene presented itself to the eyes of Jesus and his followers.— 
"Behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his 
mother, and she was a widow." Luke vii. 12. 

Though man was unable to relieve the distresses of this dis- 
consolate widow, the Saviour of the world, who beheld the me- 
lancholy procession, was both able and willing to do it. There 
was no need of a powerful solicitor to implore assistance from 
the Son of God, his own compassion was abundantly sufficient. 
"When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her:" he both 
sought the patient, and offered the cure unexpectedly. "Weep 
not," said the blessed Jesus to this afflicted woman. Alas! it 
had been wholly in vain to bid her refrain from tears, who had 
lost her only child, the sole comfort of her age, without adminis- 
tering the balm of comfort to heal her broken spirit. This our 
compassionate Redeemer well knew; and, therefore, immedi- 
ately advancing towards the corpse, "he touched the bier:" the 
pomp of the funeral was instantly stopped, silence closed every 
mouth, and expectation filled the breast of every spectator. But 
this deep suspense did not long continue; that glorious voice, 
which shall one day call our dead bodies from the grave, filled 
their ears with the remarkable words: "Young man, I say unto 
thee, arise." Nor was this powerful command uttered without 
its effect. "He spake, and it was done:" he called with au- 
thority, and immediately "he that was dead sat up, and began 
to speak; and he restored him to his mother." He did not show 
him around to the multitude ; but by a singular act of modesty 
and humanity, delivered him to his late afflicted, now astonished, 
and rejoicing mother, to intimate, that in compassion to her great 
distress, he had wrought this stupendous miracle. 

A holy and awful fear fell on all who heard and saw this as- 
tonishing event: "and they glorified God, saying, that a great 
prophet is risen up among us; and that God hath visited his 
people." 

This miracle, with others amply attested, abundantly evince 
the truth of our Saviour's mission, and that he was, indeed, the 
Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



133 



CHARTER XI. 

The character of John the Baptist cleared and justified by the blessed 
Jesus. — He visits Simon the Pharisee. — Display of our Lord's 
humility and condescension. 

We have taken notice, in a foregoing chapter, that Herod, 
incensed at the honest freedom of the Baptist reproving his adul- 
terous commerce with Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, had 
cast him into prison ; and in this state he still continued, though 
his disciples were suffered to visit and converse with him. In 
one of these visits they had given him an account of our Saviour's 
having elected twelve apostles to preach the gospel, and of his 
miracles, particularly of his raising to life the daughter of Jairus, 
and the son of the widow of Nain. 

On hearing these wonderful relations, the Baptist immedi- 
ately dispatched two of his disciples to Jesus, to ask him this 
important question: "Art thou he that should come, or look we 
for another?" 

Accordingly, the disciples of John came to Jesus, and proposed 
the question of their master, at the very time when he " cured 
many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and to 
many that were blind he gave sight." Jesus, therefore, instead 
of directly answering their question, hid them return, and inform 
their master what they had seen: "Go," said he, "and show 
John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind 1 
receive their sight, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; 
the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached 
to them." Matt. xi. 4, 5. Go, tell your master, that the very 
miracles the prophet Isaiah so long since foretold should be 
wrought by the Messiah, you have yourselves seen performed. 

It appears from the Scripture, that the Baptist, through the 
whole course of his ministry, had borne constant and ample tes- 
timony to our Saviour's divine mission; that he exhorted those 
who came to him, to rest their faith not on himself, but on "him 
that should come after him;" and that as soon as he was acquain- 
ted who Jesus was, by a visible descent of the Holy Ghost, and a 
voice from heaven, he made it his business to dispose the Jews in 
general, and his own disciples in particular, to receive and rever- 
ence him, by testifying every where, that he was the " Son of 
God, the Lamb of God, who came down from heaven," and 
"spake the words of God," and "to whom God had given the 
Spirit, by measure." 

The Baptist, therefore, well knew who Jesus was; and, conse- 



134 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



quently, he did not send his disciples to ask this question, to solve 
any doubt in his mind, concerning the Saviour of Jhe world. 

But, it may be asked what else could induce the Baptist to put 
such a question? To this, some answer, that he had no other 
intention, than to satisfy his disciples that Jesus was the Messiah, 
so long expected among the Jews; and to engage them to follow 
a more perfect master, especially as he himself was now on the 
point of leaving the world. 

This solution is doubtless partly right, but it does not seem to 
remove the whole difficulty, as it is plain from the very account 
recorded by the Evangelist, that the question had actually some 
relation to himself; and therefore we must remove the difficulty 
by another method. In order to which, it must be remembered, 
that John had long been confined in prison ; that he was per- 
suaded it was necessary for him to preach the gospel, and pre- 
pare men to receive the kingdom of the Messiah; and for that 
reason, from the very time of his imprisonment, he earnestly 
expected the Messiah would exert his power to procure his re- 
lease. But on hearing that Jesus had chosen twelve illiterate 
fishermen to preach the gospel, had furnished them with miracu- 
lous powers, in order to enable them to perform so great a work; 
and that two persons of no consequence were raised from the 
dead, while he was suffered to remain in prison, he began to 
think himself neglected, and his services disregarded. He there- 
fore sent two of his disciples to ask him this question : "Art thou 
he that should come: or look we for another?" Not that he 
entertained any doubt of his being the true Messiah, intending 
nothing more, by asking the question, but to complain that Jesus 
had not acted the part which he thought the Messiah should 
have acted; and that this was really the case, seems sufficiently 
plain, from the caution added by our blessed Saviour himself. 
" And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me :" as 
if he had said, When you have informed your master of what 
you have seen and heard, tell him that he would do well not to 
be offended, either at the choice of the apostles, or that no mir- 
acle has been wrought for his release. 

From this circumstance it is evident, that impatience on ac- 
count of his long confinement was the true reason for the Bap- 
tist's sending his disciples with this question to Jesus; and that 
the purport of the answer was, to teach him submission, in a case 
that was plainly above the reach of his judgment. 

Lest the people, from this conversation, should imbibe any 
notion prejudicial to the character of the Baptist, our blessed 
Saviour thought fit to place it in a proper point of light. He 
praised his invincible courage and constancy, which was not to 
be overcome, or " like a reed, to be shaken with the wind:" his 
austere and mortified life: for he was not "clothed in soft rai- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 135 

merit," like those who wait in the palaces of kings; adding, that 
he was " a prophet, nay, more than a prophet. For this is he 
of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy 
face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." But subjoined, 
" Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is 
greater than he." 

The propriety of this remark will appear, when it is consi- 
dered, that though the Baptist excelled all the prophets that 
were before him, yet the least inspired person in the kingdom 
of heaven, the least apostle or preacher of the gospel, was 
greater than he; because, by constantly attending on Jesus, they 
were much better acquainted with his character, disposition, and 
doctrine than the Baptist, who had only seen him transiently; 
wherefore, in respect of their personal knowledge of the Mes- 
siah, the apostles greatly excelled the Baptist. They were also 
employed, not in making preparation for the Messiah's kingdom, 
but in erecting it; and consequently greater than the Baptist 
with regard to the dignity of their office. Moreover, by having 
the gift of miracles, and the like, 'Conferred on them for that 
office, they were far superior to him with regard to illumination. 
They were so fully possessed by the spirit, that on all occasions 
they could declare the will of God, infallibly, being, as it were, 
living oracles; and having been the subjects of ancient prophe- 
cies, they had been long expected by the people of God. 

Having thus shewn the greatness of the Baptist's character, 
and wherein he was surpassed by the disciples, our blessed Sa- 
viour took occasion from thence to blame the perverseness of 
the age, in rejecting both his own and the Baptist's testimony. 

It seems that the Scribes and Pharisees, seeing their pretended 
mortifications eclipsed by the real austerity of the Baptist, im- 
prudently affirmed that his living in the deserts, his shunning the 
company of men, the coarseness of his clothing, the abstemious- 
ness of his diet, and the other severities he practiced, were the 
effects of his being possessed of an apostate spirit, or of a reli- 
gious melancholy. " For John came neither eating nor drinking, 
and they say he hath a devil." Matt. xi. 18. 

On the other hand, they would not listen to the heavenly 
doctrines preached by Christ, because he did not separate him- 
self from society; attributing his free manner of living to a 
certain looseness of disposition, though they well knew that he 
observed the strictest temperance himself, and never encouraged 
the vices of others, either by dissimulation or example. " The 
son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a 
man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and 
sinners; but wisdom is justified of her children." Matt. xi. 19. 

He next proceeded to upbraid the several cities where his 
most wonderful works had been performed. For though they 
* 16 



136 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



had heard him preach awakening sermons, and seen him perform 
such astonishing miracles, such as would have converted Tyre, 
Sidon, and Sodom, cities infamous for their impiety, contempt 
of religion, pride, luxury and debauchery; yet so great was their 
obstinacy, that they persisted in their wickedness, notwithstand- 
ing all he had done to convert them from the evil of their ways. 
"Wo unto thee Chorazin! wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the 
mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre 
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and 
ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre 
and Sidon, at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, 
Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought 
down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in 
thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto 
this day. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the 
land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee." Matt. 
xi. 21, &c. 

Having denounced these judgments on the cities which had 
neglected to profit by his mighty works, he concluded his dis- 
course with these heavenly words: " Come unto me, all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my 
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in 
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is 
easy, and my burden is light." Matt. xi. 28, &c. 

This affecting invitation must engage the most serious atten- 
tion and particular regard of every reader; if the greatness of 
the speaker, the importance of his message, or the affectionate 
manner of his address, have any weight, have any force, have 
any power to affect the soul. It is Christ, the Almighty Re- 
deemer, the Son of the Most High; he into whose hands, as 
our Mediator, all things are delivered of his Father; he unto 
whom all power in heaven and earth is given; even he who 
shall come in the clouds of heaven to judge all the inhabitants 
of the earth, and even by those words he hath himself delivered: 
it is this wonderful person who speaks, declaring at once his 
great willingness to receive, and his own supreme power to give 
that rest and peace to the soul which should be the pursuit of 
every son of Adam, and is the gift of his religion only. 

And that nothing may prevent our accepting this benevolent 
offer, he invites with the most affectionate tenderness, not the 
great, the happy, and the powerful, nor the merry-hearted, or 
the sons of joy; but "all that labor, and are heavy laden," all 
that are under the bondage of sin and sorrow; and those he 
calls, not with a desire to expose their miseries, to punish their 
offences, or to display his own glory; but solely with a view to 
render them happy. " Come," says he, " come to me, I entreat 
you to come, I will give you rest;" I myself will relieve and 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



137 



release you from your heavy burdens; come to me, and you 
shall find perfect rest and peace to your souls. " Take my yoke 
upon you, for it is easy; and my burden for it is light." 

Is it possible that creatures of a day like us ; can it be possi- 
ble "that mortals, who have but a short time to live, and are 
full of misery; who come up and are cut down like a flower; 
who flee as it were like a shadow, and never continue in one 
stay;*' can it be possible, that they should reject and disregard 
a call, so full of love, so full of affection, of such infinite conse- 
quence, of such unspeakable advantage? Can they reject the 
love of him who gave them rest, took their burdens upon him- 
self; and who, after all his sufferings, desires them only to 
"come," to exchange their own oppressive burdens for his light- 
some yoke; to abandon their sins and sorrows, and become his 
disciples; to love and obey him, and thence to be happy? Can 
we possibly despise such grace, refuse such offers, fly from such 
rest, thus freely proposed to us, and prefer the heavy yoke of 
sin, and the cruel pangs of a wounded conscience? 

Having concluded this public address, one of the Pharisees 
(named Simon) desired he would "eat with him;" the blessed 
Jesus accepted the invitation, and accompanied him to his house, 
and sat down to meat. 

He had not continued long at the table, before a woman, who 
had lately left the paths of vice for those of virtue, placed her- 
self behind him, and from a deep conviction of her former 
crimes, and the obligation she owed the Saviour of mankind, 
for bringing her to a sense of them, shed such quantities of 
tears, that they trickled down on his feet, which according to 
the custom of the country were then bare. But observing that 
her tears had wet the feet of her beloved instructor, she imme- 
diately wiped them with the hairs of her head, kissed them with 
the most ardent affection, and anointed them with precious oint- 
ment she had brought with her for that«purpose. 

It was a custom, among the inhabitants of the east, to pour 
fragrant oils on the heads of such guests as they intended par- 
ticularly to honor, while they sat at meat; and probably the 
woman's original intention was to anoint Jesus in the usual man- 
ner. But being exceedingly humbled on account of her former 
crimes, she could not presume to take that freedom with him, 
and therefore poured it on his feet, to express at once the great- 
ness of her love, and the profoundness of her humility. 

The Pharisee, who had attentively observed the woman, con- 
cluded from thence, that our Saviour could not be a prophet. 
"This man," said the Pharisee to himself, "if he were a prophet, 
would- have known who, and what manner of woman this is, 
that toucheth him; for she is a sinner." Luke vii. 39. 

But though Simon spoke this only in his heart, his thoughts 



138 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



were not concealed from the great Redeemer of mankind, who 
to convince him that he was a prophet, and that he knew not 
only the characters of men, but even the secret thoughts of 
their hearts, immediately conversed with him on the very sub- 
ject he had been revolving in his mind. He did not. indeed, 
expose him before the company, by relating what he had said 
in secret; but with remarkable delicacy pointed out to Simon 
alone, the unreasonableness of his thoughts. "Simon," said the 
blessed Jesus, "I have something to say to thee. There was a 
certain creditor, who had two debtors; the one owed five hun- 
dred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to 
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which 
of them will love him most?" Simon answered and said, I 
suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto 
him, Thou hast rightly judged. And then immediately he ap- 
plied this short parable to the subject of the woman, on which 
the Pharisee had so unjustly reasoned with himself. "Simon," 
continued our Saviour, "seest thou this woman? I entered into 
thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath 
washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of 
her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the 
time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with 
oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet 
with ointment." Luke, vii. 44, &c. 

This woman's kind services were in no danger of losing their 
reward from the blessed Jesus, who possessed the softer and finer 
feelings of human nature in their utmost perfection. Accord- 
ingly he added, in pursuance to so kind an invitation he had be- 
fore made to weary and heavy laden sinners: "Wherefore, I 
say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she 
loveth much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth 
little." Luke, vii. 47. 

The blessed Jesus haying thus commended the conduct of the 
woman to the company, and rebuked, with great delicacy, the 
unjust suspicions of Simon, turned himself to the woman, and in 
the kindest manner, assured her, that "her sins were forgiven." 
But the power he assumed, in forgiving sins, greatly offended 
the Jews, who, not being acquainted with his divinity, considered 
his speech as derogatory to the honor of the Almighty. Jesus, 
however, contemned their malicious murmurs, and repeated his 
assurance, telling the woman, that her faith had saved her, and 
bade her depart in peace. 

The next day Jesus traveled from Capernaum to different 
parts of Galilee, going "through every village, preaching and 
showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God." Luke viii. 1. 
That is, he declared to the people the welcome tidings of the 
Almighty's being willing to be reconciled to the children of men, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 139 

on condition of their repentance, and embracing the gospel of 
the grace of God. 

Leaving Galilee, he repaired to Jerusalem, to keep the passo- 
ver, being the second feast of that kind since his public ministry. 
In this journey he was accompanied by certain pious women, 
" who ministered to him of their substance." 



CHAPTER XII. 

Miraculous Cure effected at the Pool of Bethesda. — Reproof of the 
superstition of the Jews; in condemning the performance of neces- 
sary works on the Sabbath Day. — After doing many acts of 
mercy and wonder, our blessed Lord is visited by his Mother and 
his Brethren, and makes a spiritual reflection on that incident. 

Our Lord had no sooner entered the ancient city of Jerusa- 
lem, so long famous for being the dwelling-place of the Most 
High, than he repaired to the public bath, or pool, called, in the 
Hebrew tongue, "Bethesda," that is, "the House of Mercy," on 
account of the miracles wrought there, by the salutary effects of 
the water, at certain seasons. This bath was surrounded by five 
porches, or cloisters, in which those who frequented the place 
were sheltered both from the heat and cold; and were particu- 
larly serviceable to the diseased and infirm, who crowded thither 
to find relief in their affiictions. 

These porches were now filled with a " great multitude of 
impotent folks, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving 
of the water. For an angel went down, at a certain season, into 
the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first, after the 
troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole of whatso- 
ever disease he had." John, v. 3, 4. 

Such is the account of this miraculous pool, given us by St. 
John the Evangelist. Many controversies have arisen concer- 
ning the place, the time, and the nature of the pool; questions 
which will, perhaps, never be answered, because the pool of 
Bethesda is not mentioned by any of the Jewish historians. 

The time when this miraculous effect took place is not pre- 
cisely determined; but it is almost universally agreed, that it 
could not be long before the coming of our Saviour; and that 
the miracle was intended to lead us to the Son of God. For the 
gift of prophecy and of miracle had ceased among the Jews for 
above four hundred years; and therefore, to raise in them a 
more ardent desire for the coming of the Messiah, and to in- 
duce them to be more circumspect in observing the signs of his 



140 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



coming, God was pleased to favor them with this remarkable sign 
at Bethesda. And as the descendants of Jacob, in the last times, 
were not only very obnoxious to the irruptions and tyranny of 
the Gentiles, but had wholly lost their liberty; so God favored 
them with this eminent token of his favor, this wonderful pool, 
that they might not despair of the promises made to their fore- 
fathers being fulfilled. 

The pool was situated near the gate of Victims, which wer& 
figures of the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, that they might be 
convinced God had yet a regard to the posterity of Abraham, 
and the worship which he himself had established ; and might 
thus support themselves with the pleasing hope of the coming of 
the Messiah, the great angel of the covenant, to his temple. 

And as this miracle of the angel descending from heaven began 
when the coming of the Messiah was at hand, to advise them of 
the speedy and near approach of that promised salvation; so 
Christ entered these porches, which were situated without the 
temple, and performed the miracle we shall presently relate, to 
vindicate what was the true intent of this gift of healing, namely, 
to lead men to himself, " the fountain opened for sin and unclean- 
ness:" and the waters were troubled only at this certain season 
of the passover, or at other stated periods, and one only healed 
each time the angel descended, to show them at once the weak- 
ness of the law, and the great difference between that and the 
gospel dispensation ; and to teach them not to rest satisfied with 
the corporeal benefit only, as in the ministration of an angel, but 
to reflect attentively on the promises of the Messiah's approach- 
ing advent. 

Having made these necessary remarks relative to the celebra- 
ted pool of Bethesda, we shall now return to the blessed Jesus, 
who thought proper to visit the porches of Bethesda, now crowded 
with persons laboring under various diseases. 

Among these objects of pity, was one who had labored under 
•his infirmity no less than thirty-and-eight years. The length and 
greatness of this man's afflictions, which were well known to the 
Son of God, were sufficient to excite his tender compassion, and 
make him the happy object to demonstrate that his power of 
healing was infinitely superior to the sanative virtue of the wa- 
ters; while the rest were suffered to remain in their affliction. 

Had not our Lord, at this time, restored any of them to health, 
he would have acted contrary to the general account which the 
Evangelists give of his goodness on other occasions, namely. 
" that he healed all who came to hinrv' For such diseased per- 
sons, who left their habitations through a persuasion of his power 
and kindness, were proper objects of his mercy; whereas the sick 
in the cloisters of Bethesda were no more so than the other sick 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



141 



throughout the whole country, whom he could have cured with a 
single word of his mouth, had he been pleased to utter it. 

Our compassionate Lord now approached the man whom he 
had singled out as the person on whom to manifest his power: he 
asked him, whether he was desirous of being made whole? A 
question which must induce the man to declare publicly his 
melancholy case, in the hearing of the multitude, and conse- 
quently render the miracle more conspicuous. And as this was 
done on the sabbath-day, our blessed Saviour seems to have 
wrought it to rouse the sons of Jacob from their lethargy, and 
convince the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that the long expected 
Messiah was now come, and "had actually visited his people." 

This distressed mortal beholding Jesus with a sorrowful coun- 
tenance, and understanding that he meant his being healed by 
the sanative virtue of the waters, answered, in a plaintive accent, 
" Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into 
the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before 
me." John, v. 7. But the compassionate Redeemer of mankind 
soon convinced him that he was not to owe his cure to the salu- 
tary nature of the water, but to the unbounded power of the Son 
of God; and accordingly said to him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and 
walk." Nor was the heavenly mandate any sooner uttered, than 
the impotent man, to the astonishment of the multitude, " was 
made whole, and took up his bed and walked." John, v, 9. 

This great and miraculous cure could not fail of having a 
proper effect on the spectators: and his carrying his bed on the 
sabbath-day, which the Jews considered as a profanation of that 
day of rest, tended greatly to spread the fame of the miracle over 
the whole city. Nor did the man scruple to obey the commands 
of his kind physician : he well knew that the person who had the 
power of working such miracles must be a great prophet; and 
consequently, that his injunction could not be sinful. He, there- 
fore, thought that he gave a sufficient answer to those Jews, who 
told him it was not lawful to carry his bed on the sabbath-day, to 
say, " He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up 
thy bed and walk." John, v. 11. He that restored my strength 
in an instant, and removed, with a single word, a disease that 
had many years afflicted me, commanded me, at the same time, 
to take up my bed and walk; and surely a person endued with 
such power from on high, would not have ordered me to do any 
thing but what is truly right. 

The votaries of infidelity should remember, that this signal 
miracle was performed in an instant, and even when the patient 
did not expect any such favor, nor even know the person to 
whom he owed it. No one, therefore, can pretend that imagina- 
tion had any share in performing it. In short, the narrative of 



142 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



this miracle of mercy, sufficiently proves, that the person who did 
it was really divine. 

Soon after this miracle, Jesus met, in the temple, the man he 
had healed at the pool of Bethesda; and took the opportunity of 
reminding him, that as he was now freed from an infirmity he 
had brought on himself by irregular courses, he should be careful 
to abstain from them for the future, lest the Almighty should 
think proper to afflict him in a more terrible manner. The man, 
overjoyed at having found the divine Physician who had relieved 
him from his melancholy condition, repaired to the Scribes and 
Pharisees, and with a heart overflowing with gratitude, innocently 
told them, that it was Jesus who had performed on him so aston- 
ishing a cure: being, doubtlessly persuaded that they would 
rejoice at beholding so great a prophet. 

But, alas! this was far from being the case: the rulers of Israel, 
instead of being pleased with the accounts of his many stupen- 
dous works of mercy and kindness, attacked him tumultuously in 
the temple, and carried him before the sanhedrim, probably with 
an intention to take away his life, merely because he had done 
good on the sabbath-day. 

Jesus, however, soon vindicated, by irrefragable arguments, 
the propriety of his works; observing, that in doing works of 
mercy and beneficence on the sabbath-day, he only imitated his 
heavenly Father, the God of Jacob, whose providence was con- 
tinually employed, without any regard to times or seasons, in 
doing good for the children of men. And, surely, he must be 
more than blind, who cannot discover that the Almighty, on the 
sabbaths as well as on other days, supports the whole frame of 
the universe; and, by the invisible operations of his power, con- 
tinues the motion of the heavenly bodies, on the revolution of 
which the vicissitudes of day and night, of summer and winter, so 
necessary to the production of the fruit of the earth, depend. 

But Jewish prejudice could not be overcome by argument. 
Nay, the very observation increased their malice, as he claimed 
a peculiar relation to God ; and by asserting that he acted like 
him, insinuated that he was equal to the Almighty himself. 

The Saviour of the world did not deny this conclusion ; showed 
that he acted agreeably to the will of God, and was equal with 
him in power, doing whatsoever he saw done by his Father: a 
convincing proof of his Fathers love for him. M Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he 
seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also 
doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and 
showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him 
greater works than these, that ye may marvel." John, v. 19, 20. 

The blessed Jesus added, that he had not only power to heal 
the sick, but even to raise the dead : and that his Father had con- 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



143 



stituted him the universal Judge of the world: and, therefore, 
those who refused to honor him, refused to honor the Father. 
But whoever believed on him should inherit eternal life. 

And that they might not doubt of the truth of his mission, but 
that he was actually invested with the power of raising the dead, 
he desired them to remember the undoubted instances he had 
already given of it, in restoring the daughter of Jairus, and the 
widow's son, of Nain, to life: and, consequently, that he could, 
on any future occasion, exert the same power: "Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall 
live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to 
the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to 
execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." John, 
v. 25, &c. 

The blessed Jesus added to this, Be not surprised at the power 
of raising a few individuals from the dead, and the authority of 
inflicting punishment on a number of the human race; I have a 
far greater power committed to me, even that of raising all the 
sons of Adam, at the last day, and of judging and rewarding every 
one of them according to his works. "Marvel not at this: for 
the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall 
hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good 
unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil unto 
the resurrection of damnation." John, v. 28, 29. 

The great day of tribulation will distinguish between the good 
and the evil; for the tremendous Judge has been privy to all the 
actions of the sons of men, from the beginning to the end of time; 
nor has he any interest to pursue, or any inclination to satisfy, 
different from those of his heavenly Father. " And my judgment 
is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Fa- 
ther, which hath sent me." John, v. 30. 

Nothing could more evince the character of our Lord, than 
these assertions; though he did not require his hearers to believe 
them merely on his own testimony ; he appealed to that of John, 
who was a burning and a shining light, and in whom for a time, 
they greatly rejoiced, because the prophetic spirit, which had so 
long ceased in Israel, was revived in that holy man. Nay, he 
appealed to a much greater testimony than that of John, even 
that of the God of Jacob himself, who was continually bearing 
witness to the truth of his mission, by the many miracles he em- 
powered him to perform; and who, at his baptism, had, with an 
audible sound from the courts of heaven, declared him to be his 
beloved Son; a sound which multitudes of people had heard, and 
probably even some of those to whom he was now speaking. 

The Jews had long expected the Messiah: but they had ex- 
pected him to appear as a temporal prince, who would not only 

17 



144 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



restore the former lustre of the throne of David, but infinitely 
augment it, and even place it over all the kingdoms of the earth. 
And hence they were unwilling to acknowledge Jesus for their 
Messiah, notwithstanding the proofs of his mission were so unde- 
niable, because they must, in so doing, have abandoned all their 
grand ideas of a temporal kingdom. Our blessed Saviour, there- 
fore, desired them to consult their own Scriptures, particularly 
the writings of the prophets, where they would find the charac- 
ter of the Messiah displayed: and be fully convinced they were 
all fulfilled in his person. 

He also gave them to understand, that the proofs of his mis- 
sion were as full and clear as possible, being supported by the 
actions of his life, which in all things agreed with his doctrine: 
for he never sought the applause of men, or assumed secular 
power, but was always innocent and humble, though he well 
knew that these virtues made him appear little in the eyes of 
those who had no idea of a spiritual kingdom, but expected the 
Messiah would appear in all the pomp of secular authority. 

In short, the fatal infidelity of the Jews was principally owing 
to their pride. They had long filled the minds of the people 
with grand ideas of the glory and power of the Messiah's king- 
dom; they had represented him as a potent prince, who was to 
appear at once, adorned with all the ensigns of power; and 
therefore to have ascribed that august character to a mere 
teacher of righteousness, destitute even of the ordinary advan- 
tages of birth, fortune, and erudition, would have been so plain 
a confession of their ignorance of the Scriptures, as must have 
exposed them to the ridicule and contempt of the whole people. 

Our blessed Saviour added, that he himself should not only 
be their own accuser to the God of Jacob, for their infidelity; 
but Moses, their great legislator, in whom they trusted, would 
join in that unwelcome office; for, by denying him to be the 
Messiah, they denied the writings of that prophet. "For had 
ye," added he, "believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for 
he wrote of me: but if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye 
believe my words?" John v. 46, 47. 

Thus did the blessed Jesus assert himself to be the Son of 
God, the great Judge of the whole earth, and the Messiah pro- 
mised by the prophets: and at the same time gave them such 
convincing proofs of his being sent from God, that nothing could 
be said against them. 

Convincing as these proofs were, yet it did not in the least 
abate the malice of the Scribes and Pharisees; for the very next 
sabbath, upon his disciples plucking a few ears of corn as they 
passed through the fields, and eating the grain after rubbing it 
out in their hands, they again exclaimed against this violation of 
the sabbath. But our blessed Saviour soon convinced them of 



LIFE OF CHRIST, 



145 



their error, by showing, both from the example of David, and 
the constant practice of their own priests, who never omitted 
the necessary works of the temple on the sabbath day, that 
works of necessity were often permitted, even though they broke 
a ritual command; that acts of mercy were the most accepta- 
ble services to God, of any whatever; that it was inverting the 
order of things, to suppose that "man was made for the sab- 
bath, and not the sabbath for the benefit of man." Adding, 
that if the service of the temple should be said to claim a par- 
ticular dispensation from the law of the sabbath, he and his dis- 
ciples, whose business of promoting the salvation of mankind 
was of equal importance, might justly claim the same exemp- 
tion; as they were carrying on a much nobler work than the 
priest who attended on the service of the temple. Thus did our 
blessed Saviour prove, that works of mercy should not be left 
undone, though attended with the violation of some of the most 
sacred institutions of the ceremonial law. 

Soon after this dispute with the Scribes and Pharisees, our 
blessed Saviour entered one of the synagogues of Jerusalem, on 
the sabbath day, and found there a man whose right hand was 
withered. 

The Pharisees, who observed the compassionate Jesus advance 
towards the man, did not doubt but he would heal him: and 
therefore watched him attentively, that they might have some- 
thing to accuse him with the people. Their hypocrisy was 
arrived to that monstrous pitch, that they determined to injure 
his reputation, by representing him as a sabbath breaker, if he 
dared to heal the man, while they themselves were profaning it 
by an action which would have polluted any day; namely, of 
seeking an opportunity of destroying a person who had never 
injured them, but done many good actions for the sons of Jacob, 
and was continually laboring for their eternal welfare. 

The Saviour of the world was not unapprized of these mali- 
cious intentions. He knew their designs, and defied their impo- 
tent power, by informing them of the benevolent action he de- 
signed, though he well knew they would exert every art they 
were masters of, in order to put him to death. 

Therefore, when our Saviour ordered the man to show him- 
self to the whole congregation, in order to excite their pity, these 
hypocritical teachers declared, in the strongest terms, the unlaw- 
fulness of his performing even such beneficent actions on the 
sabbath: "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?" They 
did not, however, ask this question with an intention to hinder 
him from performing the miracle. No, they had a very different 
intention than that of accusing him. For they hoped he would 
have declared openly that such actions were lawful; or at least, 



146 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



make no reply to their demands, which they would have con- 
strued into an acknowledgment of what they asserted. 

Nor did our Lord fail to expose their malice and superstition ; 
and accordingly asked them, "Is it lawful, on the sabbath day, 
to do good or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?" Luke,\i. 9. 
Is it not more lawful for me, on the sabbath day, to save men's 
lives, than for you to seek my death, without the least provoca- 
tion? This severe rebuke would admit of no answer, and there- 
fore they held their peace, pretending not to understand his 
meaning. He therefore made use of an argument, which stu- 
pidity itself could not fail of understanding, and which all the art 
of these . hypocritical sophists was unable to answer. "What 
man," said the blessed Jesus, "shall there be among you, that 
shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, 
will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much better then 
is a man than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the 
sabbath-day." Matt. xii. 11, 12. 

The former question they pretended not to understand, and 
therefore held their peace; but this argument effectually silenced 
them, though they were determined not to be convinced. This 
unconquerable obstinacy grieved the spirit of the meek, the 
benevolent Jesus, who beheld them "with anger," that, if 
possible, an impression might be made, either on them, or the 
spectators. 

But at the same time that he testified his displeasure towards 
the Pharisees, he uttered words of comfort to the lame man, 
bidding him stretch forth his hand: and he no sooner obeyed the 
divine command, than " it was restored whole as the other." 

This astonishing work, performed in the midst of a congrega- 
tion, many of whom, doubtless, knew the man while he labored 
under this infirmity, and in presence of his most inveterate ene- 
mies, must certainly have had a great effect on the minds of the 
people, especially as they saw it had effectually silenced the 
Pharisees, who had nothing to offer, either against the miracle 
itself, or the reasonings and power of him who had performed it. 

But though these whited sepulchres, as our blessed Saviour 
justly termed them, were silenced by his arguments, and aston- 
ished at his miracles, yet they were so far from abandoning their 
malicious intentions, that they joined their inveterate enemies, 
the Herodians, or Sadducees, in order to consult how they might 
destroy him: well knowing, that if he continued his preaching, 
angl working of miracles, the people would wholly follow him, 
and their own power soon become contemptible. Jesus, how- 
ever, thought proper to prevent their malicious designs, by retir- 
ing into Galilee, and there pursuing his benevolent purposes. 

This retreat could not, however, conceal him from the multi- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



147 



tude, who flocked to him from all quarters, bringing with them 
the sick and maimed, who were all healed and sent away in peace. 

Some of his disciples, however, who still entertained the popu- 
lar opinion, that the Messiah would establish his kingdom by 
force, and bear down all opposition, were extremely mortified to 
find their Master retreat from so weak an enemy. But had they 
read with attention the prophecy of Isaiah, they would have 
known that this weakness was one part of the Messiah's charac- 
ter. "Behold my Servant, whom I have chosen; my Beloved, 
in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, 
and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, 
nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A 
bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not 
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his 
name shall the Gentiles trust." Matt. xii. 18, &c. 

Though there are several small variations between this pro- 
phecy, as quoted by St. Matthew, and the original, in the book 
of Isaiah; yet the sense in both places is the same. And we can- 
not help observing, that there is in this prophecy an evident dif- 
ference between the publication of the Jewish religion, by Moses, 
and the Christian religion, by Christ. The doctrine of salvation, 
as taught by Moses, extended only to the single nation of the 
Jews; whereas that published by the Messiah, extended to every 
nation and people under heaven. Accordingly our blessed Sav- 
iour, by retiring into Galilee, fulfilled the first part of this famous 
prophecy: "He shall show judgment to the Gentiles;" for the 
Evangelist tells us, great multitudes came to him from beyond 
Jordan, and from Syria, about Tyre and Sidon. 

Being now returned into Galilee, there was brought unto him 
a blind and dumb man, possessed with a devil; but Jesus, with a 
single word, cast out the evil spirit, and restored the noble facul- 
ties of sight and speech. A miracle so surprising could not fail 
of astonishing the numerous spectators, who now seemed con- 
vinced that the person endued with such remarkable power, 
could be no other than the Messiah. 

The Pharisees, who were come thither from Jerusalem, filled 
with malice at seeing him perform so many miracles, impiously 
asserted, contrary to the conviction of their own minds, that they 
were wrought by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. 

So blasphemous a declaration could not be supposed to escape 
a censure from the Son of God, who, addressing himself both to 
them and the people, demonstrated the absurdity of the calum- 
ny? DV an argument drawn from the common affairs of life, 
"Every kingdom," said the blessed Jesus, "divided against itself, 
is brought to desolation: and every city or house divided against 
itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divi- 
ded against himself, how then shall his kingdom stand?" Your 



148 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



calumny is malicious and absurd; it is malicious, because your 
own consciences are convinced of its falsehood; and it is absurd, 
because Satan cannot assist me in preaching the kingdom of 
God, and destroying all the works of darkness, unless he be 
divided against himself, and destroy all the works of his own 
kingdom. Adding, " And if I by Beelzebub oast out devils, by 
whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be 
your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then 
the kingdom of God is come unto you." Ye did not impute the 
miracles of your prophets to Beelzebub, but received them on 
the evidence of their miracles, as the messengers of God. But 
ye reject me, who work greater and more numerous miracles 
than they, and impute them to the power of evil spirits. Is this 
conduct reconcilable? These prophets, therefore, shall be your 
judges, they shall condemn you. But as it is true, that I cast 
out devils by the assistance of the Almighty, it follows that the 
kingdom of God, so long expected, is going to be established. 

But this blasphemy, however great, may be forgiven you, be- 
cause stronger and more evident proofs of my mission may con- 
vince you of your sins, and induce you to embrace the offers of 
eternal life. And the time is coming when the Son of Man 
shall be raised from the dead, by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
the gifts of miracles showered on almost all believers, and the 
nature of the Messiah's kingdom more fully explained, in order 
to remove the foundation of your prejudice, the expectation of 
a temporal prince. But if you then shut your eyes, and speak 
evil against the Holy Ghost, by affirming that his gifts and mira- 
cles proceed from the prince of Darkness, it shall never be for- 
given you: because it is a sin you cannot possibly repent of, as 
no greater means of conviction will be offered; but you shall be 
punished for it, both in this world, and in that which is to come. 
"Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy 
shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the 
Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever 
speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven 
him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall 
not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world 
to come." Matt. xii. 31, 32. 

This solemn sentence on the sin against the Holy Ghost, 
was probably now pronounced by our Saviour to awaken the 
consciences of the Pharisees, by a sense of their danger, if they 
continued in such detestable calumnies, when their own hearts 
sufficiently told them, that they flowed entirely from malice and 
resentment. 

But all his reasonings and threatenings had no effect on this 
perverse set of mortals, who sarcastically answered, " Master, 
we would see a sign from thee." Strange stupidity! had not 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



149 



he, a short time before, cast out a devil, and restored the facul- 
ties of sight and speech to the blind and dumb? cleansed lepers, 
raised the dead, and even rebuked the winds and waves? Were 
not these signs sufficient to convince the most bigoted mortal? 
What therefore could these stubborn doctors of the law require? 
Well might the great Saviour of the world call them " a wicked 
and adulterous generation;" for surely they could boast of no 
part of the faith and piety of Abraham, their great progenitor. 
Persons of such incorrigible inclinations certainly merited no 
indulgence; and accordingly, Jesus told them they should have 
no other sign given them, but what they every day beheld, 
the sign of the prophet Jonas, who, by living three days and 
three nights in the belly of the whale, was a type of the Son of 
God, who should continue three days and three nights in the 
chambers of the tomb. Adding, that the Ninevites repented 
at the preaching of the prophet Jonas; and the queen of the 
south undertook a long journey to Jerusalem, to hear the wis- 
dom of Solomon; but they refused to attend to the doctrines of 
an infinitely greater prophet than Jonas, or listen to one much 
wiser than Solomon. Concluding his discourse with a very 
apposite parable, tending to shew the great danger of resisting 
conviction, and breaking through resolutions, as such actions 
tended entirely to render men more obdurate and abandoned 
than before. 

During this dispute with the Pharisees, Jesus was informed 
that his mother and brethren, or kinsmen, were without, desiring 
to speak to him: upon which the blessed Jesus stretched out his 
hands towards his disciples, and said, "Behold my mother and 
my brethren ! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, 
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and 
mother." Matt, xii, 49, 50. This glorious truth should be 
stamped on the minds of all believers, as it shows that every 
one, of what nation or kindred soever, who is brought into sub- 
jection to the will of God, is allied to the blessed Jesus, and en- 
titled to the salvation of God. 



150 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Our Lord delivers many remarkable parables, and explains several 
of them, — Returns to Nazareth, and commissions the Twelve 
Apostles, whom he had before selected as his constant attendants 
and followers, to disperse and preach the gospel of the kingdom of 
God, in divers places. — Circumstances of the death of John the 
Baptist. 

The miraculous power of our blessed Lord, both in perform- 
ing the most astonishing acts, and confuting the most learned 
of the pharisaical tribe, who endeavored to oppose his mission 
and doctrine, brought together so great a multitude, that he re- 
paired to the sea-side; and for the better instructing the people, 
entered into a ship, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 
Being thus conveniently seated, he delivered many precepts of 
the utmost importance, beginning with the parable of the sower, 
who cast his seed on different kinds of soil, the products of 
which were answerable to the nature of the ground, some yield- 
ing a large increase, others nothing at all. By this striking 
similitude, the blessed Jesus represented the different kinds of 
hearers, and the different manner in which they are affected by 
the precepts of religion. Some wholly suppress the doctrines 
delivered, in others they produce the fruits of righteousness, in 
proportion to the goodness of their hearts. And surely a more 
proper parable could not have been delivered, when such multi- 
tudes came to hear his discourses, and so few practiced the pre- 
cepts, or profited by the heavenly doctrines they contained. 

To vindicate the propriety of our Saviour's conduct, it may 
not be amiss here to observe, that parables were very familiar 
to the oriental nations, particularly those of Palestine, as we 
learn from the concurrent testimony of all the eastern writers; 
and it was the general method, both of the old prophets, John 
the Baptist, and our blessed Saviour himself, to allude to things 
present, and such as immediately offered themselves. Our Sav- 
iour also, by using this manner of teaching, fulfilled the prophe- 
cies concerning the Messiah, relating to his method of instruc- 
tion; it being foretold, "that he should open his mouth in para- 
bles; and utter things which had been kept secret from the 
foundation of the world." It is therefore no wonder that the 
mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of heaven are generally 
the subject of our Saviour's parables; his grand and fundamen- 
tal doctrines being delivered in clear, plain, and express terms, 
but sometimes heightened and enlivened by the addition of 
beautiful parables. Similitudes of this kind are, indeed, the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



151 



most simple method of teaching, and best accommodated to the 
apprehension of the vulgar and unlearned, and very easy to be 
remembered, understood, and applied. At the same time, they 
are the finest veil for mysteries, and the best means of convict- 
ing the proud and obstinate, as well as concealing from them 
those truths which their perverseness and infidelity have ren- 
dered them unworthy of having more clearly displayed. 

But to return. The parable being finished, his disciples asked, 
why he taught the people in parables? to which he answered, 
"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the 
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever 
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: 
but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even 
that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because 
they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they 
understand." Matt. xiii. 11, &c. As if he had said, You, my 
beloved disciples, who are of a humble, docile temper, and are 
willing to use means, and resort to me for instruction, and the 
explanation of the truths I deliver; to you it shall be no disad- 
vantage, that they are clothed in parables. Besides, my discour- 
ses are plain and intelligible to all unprejudiced minds: truth 
will shine through the veil in which it is arrayed, and the shadow 
will guide you to the substance. But these proud, these self- 
conceited Pharisees, who are so blinded by their own prejudi- 
ces, that they will neither hear nor understand a thing plainly 
delivered; to them I preach in parables, and hide the great 
truths of the gospel, under such metaphorical robes as will for 
ever conceal them from persons of their temper. They have, 
therefore, brought upon themselves this blindness, that in seeing 
they see not, and this willful deafness, that in hearing they hear 
not, neither do they understand. 

The blessed Jesus added, that there was no reason for their 
being surprised at what he had told them, as it had long before 
been predicted by the prophet Isaiah. "By hearing, ye shall 
hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, ye shall see, and 
shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and 
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; 
lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with 
their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should 
be converted, and I should heal them.' Matt. xiii. 14, 15.— 
There is some variation in the words, as quoted by the Evange- 
list, and those found in Isaiah, but the import of both is the same, 
and may be paraphrased in the following manner: "The sons 
of Jacob shall, indeed, hear the doctrines of the gospel, but not 
understand them; and see the miracles by which these doctrines 
are confirmed, without perceiving them to be wrought by the 
finger of God: not because the evidences produced by the Mes- 

18 



152 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



siah are insufficient, but because the corruption of their heart9 
will not suffer them to examine and weigh these evidences; for 
the sins of this people have hardened their hearts: 'their pride 
and vanity have shut their ears, and their hypocrisy and bigo- 
ted adherance to traditions and forced interpretations of the law 
and the prophets, have closed their eyes, lest the brilliant rays 
of truth should strike their sight with irresistible force, and the 
powerful voice of divine wisdom force their attention, and com- 
mand their assent; being unwilling to be directed to the paths 
of righteousness which lead to the heavenly Canaan." 

Such are the reasons given by our blessed Saviour, for his 
teaching the people by parables; and to enhance the great privi- 
lege his disciples enjoyed, he added, that many patriarchs and 
prophets of old had earnestly desired to see and hear these 
things which the people now saw and heard, but were denied 
that favor; God having, till then, showed them to his most emi- 
nent saints, in shadows only, and as they lay brooding in the 
womb of futurity. "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; 
and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that 
many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those 
things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those 
things which ye hear and have not heard them." MatU xiii. 16. 

Our Lord having by these means excited the desire of his dis- 
ciples, proceeded to explain to them the parable of the sower. 
"The sower," said he, "sowed the word." The seed, there- 
fore, implies the doctrines of true religion; and the various 
kinds of soil the various kinds of hearers. The ground by the 
highway side, which is apt to be beaten by men treading upon 
it, is an image of those who have their hearts so hardened with 
impiety, that though they hear the gospel preached, it makes no 
impression on their callous hearts, because they either hear it 
inattentively, or quickly forget the words of the preacher. And 
surely no similitude could more strongly represent this insensi- 
bility and inattention, than the beaten ground, bordering on 
the highway, into which this seed never entering, it is picked up 
by the fowls of the air, or trodden in pieces by the feet of pas- 
sengers. "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, 
and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and 
catcheth away that which was sown in his heart; this is he 
which received seed by the way side." Matt. xiii. 19. 

We must not suppose, that the devil has the power of rob- 
bing hearers of their knowledge, by an immediate act of his 
own, because he is said to catch away the word sown in their 
hearts, but by the opportunities they give the deceiver of man- 
kind, for exerting his strong temptations, and particularly those 
which have a relation to their commerce with men: a circum- 
stance that could not escape the observation of St. Luke, who 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



153 



tells us, that the seed was trodden down, or destroyed, by their 
own headstrong lusts, which like so many birds, pinched with 
hunger, devour the seed implanted in their minds. 

The rocky ground represents those hearers who so far receive 
the word into their hearts, that it discovers itself by good reso- 
lutions, which are, perhaps, accompanied with a partial refor- 
mation of some sins, and the temporary practice of some vir- 
tues. But the word has not sunk deep enough in their minds 
to remain constantly there; its abode with them is only for a 
season; and therefore, when persecution ariseth for the sake of 
the gospel, and such hearers are exposed to tribulations of any 
kind, the blade, which sprung up quickly, withers, for want of 
being watered with the streams of piety and virtue; like the 
vegetable productions of the earth, when deprived of the enliven- 
ing rains and dews of heaven, and a want of earth to contain 
this balmy fluid, when the rays of the sun dart in full vigor upon 
them. "But he that received the seed into stony places, the 
same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth 
it: Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for 
when tribulation or persecution ariseth, because of the word, by 
and by he is offended." Matt. xiii. 20, 21. 

The ground encumbered with thorns, which sprung up with 
the seed, and choked it, represents all those who receive the 
word into hearts already filled with the cares of this world, 
which will sooner or later destroy whatever good resolutions 
are raised by the word. The cares of the world are compared 
to thorns, not only because of their pernicious tendency in 
choking the word, but because they cannot be eradicated with- 
out great pain and difficulty. In this parable, the hearers of 
this denomination are distinguished from those who receive the 
seed on stony ground, not so much by the effect of the word 
upon their minds, as by the different natures of each; for in both 
the seed sprang up, but brought forth no fruit. Those repre- 
sented by the stony ground have no depth of soil; those by the 
thorny ground are choked by the cares of this world; by de- 
ceitfulness of riches, and the love of pleasures, which, sooner 
or later, will stifle the impressions of the word ; by which means 
they at last become as unfruitful as the former, But both are 
distinguished from those hearers represented by the seed sown 
by the highway side, that they receive the word, and, in some 
measure, obey its precepts. Whereas, the first never receive the 
word at all, hearing without attention; or if they do attend, 
forget it immediately. "He also that received seed among the 
thorns, is he that heareth the word ; and the care of this world, 
and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becom- 
eth unfruitful." Matt. xiii. 22. 

In opposition to these unprofitable hearers of the word, others 



154 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



are represented, whose goodness of heart, signified under the 
similitude of the soil, receive the word with gladness, and bring 
forth large increase. These are convinced of the truths deli- 
vered, and practice them, though contrary to their prejudices, 
and opposite to their inclinations. All those bring forth, some 
a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty, in proportion to the 
different degrees of strength in which they possess the graces 
necessary to the profitable hearing of the word righteousness. 

Having ended this interpretation of the parable of the sower, 
he continued his discourse to his disciples, explaining to them, 
by the similitude of a lighted lamp, the use they were expected 
to make of all the excellent instructions they had and should 
receive from him. Their understanding, he told them, was to 
illuminate the world, as a brilliant lamp, placed in the centre of 
an apartment, enlightens the whole. He added, that though 
some of the doctrines of the gospel were then concealed from the 
people, because of their prejudices, yet the time would come, 
when these doctrines should be preached openly and plainly 
through the world; and therefore it was their duty, to whom God 
had given both an opportunity of hearing, and a capacity of un- 
derstanding these doctrines, to listen with the utmost attention. 
44 Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, 
and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid 
which shall not be manifested: neither was any thing kept secret, 
but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, 
let him hear." Mark, iv. 21, 22, 23. 

But as it was a matter of great importance that the disciples, 
who were to publish the gospel throughout the whole world, 
should listen with the closest attention to his sermons, he repeated 
his admonitions: adding, that their present privileges and future 
rewards should be both proportioned to the fidelity and care 
with which they discharged the important trust committed to 
them. "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye meet, 
it shall be measured to you; and unto you that hear shall more 
be given.'* Mark, iv. 24. 

Having explained these parables to his disciples, he turned 
himself to the multitude on the shore, and in his usual endearing 
accent, delivered the parable of the enemy sowing tares among 
the wheat: and on their first appearance astonishing the hus- 
bandman's servants, who knew the field had been sowed with 
good seed; and in order to free the wheat from such injurious 
plants, proposed to root them up. But this the husbandman 
absolutely refused, lest, by extirpating the one, they injured the 
other; adding, that he would take care, at the time of harvest, to 
give orders to his reapers, that they should first gather the tares 
into bundles, and burn them, and afterwards carry the wheat to 
the granaries. 44 The kingdom of heaven," said the blessed Je- 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 155 

sus, u is likened unto a man, which sowed good seed in his field : 
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among 
the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung 
up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So 
the servants of the householder came, and said unto him, Sir, 
didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then 
hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. 
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and 
gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the 
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow to- 
gether until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say 
to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them 
in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn." 
Matt. xiii. 24, &c. 

This parable of the tares being ended, he spake another, 
concerning the seed which sprung up secretly, representing the 
gradual and silent progress of the gospel among the sons of men. 
He informed them, under this similitude, that the husbandman 
does not by any efficacy of his own, cause the seed he casts into 
the ground to grow, but leaves it to be nourished by the teeming 
virtues of the soil, and the enlivening rays of the sun: in the same 
manner Jesus and his apostles, having taught men the doctrine 
of true religion, were not by any miraculous force to constrain 
the wills, far less, by the terrors of fire and sword, to interpose 
visibly in the assistance of it; but suffer it to spread by the secret 
influences of the Holy Spirit, till it attained its full effect. And 
as the husbandman cannot, by the most diligent observation, 
perceive the corn in his field extending its dimensions as it grows; 
so the ministers of Christ were not, at the first planting of the gos- 
pel, to expect to see it make quick progress through the world. 

The ministers of religion, must not, however, from hence, ima- 
gine, that religion will flourish without their carefully and impor- 
tunately pressing its precepts upon the minds of their hearers. 
The parable was spoken to inform the Jews in particular, that 
neither the Messiah nor his servants would employ force to es- 
tablish the kingdom of God, as they vainly expected the Messiah 
would have done; and to prevent the disciples from fainting, 
when they saw that an immediate and rapid success did not at- 
tend their labors. " So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should 
cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and 
day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not 
how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself: first the 
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But 
when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the 
sickle, because the harvest is come." Mark, iv. 26, &c. 

The next parable he spake to the multitude was that of the 
mustard seed, which, though very small when sown, becomes, 



156 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



in Palestine, and other parts of the east, a full spreading tree. 
Intimating to his audience, under this similitude, that notwith- 
standing the gospel would at first appear contemptible from the 
ignominy flowing from the crucifixion of its author, the strictness 
of its precepts, the weakness of the persons by whom it was 
preached, and the small number and mean condition of those 
who received it; yet being founded on truth itself, it would in- 
crease to an astonishing magnitude, filling the whole earth, and 
affording spiritual nourishment to persons of all nations, who 
should enjoy all the privileges of the Messiah's kingdom, equally 
with the Jews. And surely a more proper parable could not 
have been uttered, to encourage his disciples to persevere in the 
work of the ministry, notwithstanding it would in the beginning 
be opposed by the learned, the rich, and the powerful. " The 
kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a 
man took and sowed in his field. Which indeed is the least of 
all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, 
and becometh a tree: so that the birds of the air come and lodge 
in the branches thereof." Matt. xiii. 31, 32. 

Our blessed Saviour concluded his discourse to the multitude, 
with the parable of the leaven, to intimate the influence of the 
doctrine of the gospel on the minds of particular persons. " The 
kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and 
hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." 
Matt. xiii. 33. 

While Jesus was thus employed in his heavenly Father's busi- 
ness, his mother and brethren came a second time, desiring to 
see him. In all probability they feared that the continued 
fatigue of preaching would injure his health; and were there- 
fore desirous of taking him with them, that he might refresh 
himself. But the blessed Jesus, who was never weary of doing 
good, answered his indulgent parent as before: "My mother 
and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do 
it." Luke, viii. 21. 

Night approaching, Jesus dismissed the multitude, and re- 
turned to the house in Capernaum, where he abode, and there 
explained to his disciples the parable of the tares in the field. 
The husbandman, said our blessed Saviour, is the Son of man; 
the field, the Christian church, planted in different parts of the 
world; the wheat are those Christians who obey the precepts of 
the gospel, and are supported by the principles of the Holy 
Spirit; and the tares, the bad Christians seduced into the paths 
of vice, by the temptations of the devil. Our blessed Lord, 
therefore, by this parable, represented the mixed nature of 
the church on earth, the dismal end of the hypocrites, and 
those who forget God; for these may deceive for a time, by 
assuming the robes of virtue and religion; yet they will not 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



157 



fail, sooner or later, to betray themselves, and show that they 
are only wolves in sheep's clothing. At the same time, however 
sincerely we may wish to see the church freed from her corrupted 
members, we must not extirpate them by force, lest, being de- 
ceived by outward appearances, we also destroy the wheat, or 
sound members. We must leave this distinction to the awful 
day, when the great Messiah will descend to judgment; for then 
a final separation will be made: the wicked cast into torments, 
that will never have an end, but the righteous received into 
life eternal, where they " shall shine forth as the sun, in the king- 
dom of their Father." Matt. xiii. 43. 

Our Lord, on this occasion delivered the parable of the 
treasure hid in the field, and of the pearl of great price. The 
former was designed to teach us that some meet with the gospel, 
as it were by accident, and without seeking after it, agreeably 
to the prediction of the prophet, 44 That God is found of them 
that seeek him not." But with regard to the latter, it was 
designed to intimate, that men sometimes take the utmost pains 
to become acquainted with the great truths of the gospel. And 
surely the similitudes, both of the treasure and pearl, are verjr 
naturally used to signify the gospel; the former, as it enriches 
all who possess it; and the latter, because it is more precious 
than rubies. 

But that the disciples must expect that the Christian church 
would consist of a mixed multitude of people, the good blended 
with the bad, in such a manner that it would be difficult to 
separate them; he compared it to a net cast into the sea, which 
gathered fish of every kind, good and bad, which were separated 
when the net was drawn to land ; that is, at the last great day of 
account, when the righteous will be conveyed to life eternal, 
and the wicked cast into everlasting misery. 

Our blessed Saviour, having finished these parables, asked 
his disciples, if they understood them? and upon their answering 
in the affirmative, he added, that every teacher of the gospel 
ought to resemble a person whose house was completely fur- 
nished, and brought "forth out of his treasures, things new 
and old." 

Soon after, Jesus left Capernaum, and repaired to Nazareth, 
where he had been brought up, and preached in the synagogue 
the glad tidings of the kingdom of God; but his townsmen, 
though astonished at his doctrine, could not overcome the preju- 
dices they had conceived against him, on account of the mean- 
ness of his family, and thence refused to own him for the Messiah. 
Our Saviour, finding them the same incorrigible persons as 
when he visited them before, departed from them, and taught 
in the neighboring villages. They, in common with all the 
Jews, were strangers to the true character of the Messiah, 



158 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

whom they considered as a temporal prince; and therefore 
could not bear that a person so mean as Jesus appeared to be, 
should perform works peculiar to that idol of their vanity, a 
glorious triumphant secular Messiah. 

While our Lord resided in the neighborhood of Nazareth, 
he sent out his disciples to preach in different parts of Galilee, 
and to proclaim the glad tidings that God was then going to 
establish the kingdom of the Messiah, wherein he would be wor- 
shipped in spirit and in truth. And in order that they might 
confirm the doctrines they delivered, and prove that they had 
received their commission from the Son of God, they were en- 
dowed with the power of working miracles. How long they 
continued their preaching cannot be known, but it is reasonable 
to think they spent a considerable time in it, preaching in several 
parts of Judea. 

The miracles which the apostles wrought, raised the expecta- 
tions of men higher than ever; the people were astonished to 
see the disciples of Jesus perform so many miracles; and then 
concluded, that our Saviour must be greater than any of the 
old prophets, who could not transmit the power they enjoyed to 
any other. This extraordinary circumstance could not fail of 
spreading his fame through the whole country: it even reached 
the ears of Herod, the Tetrarch, who, fearing a person of such 
extraordinary abilities, was very uneasy, which, some of his 
courtiers observing, endeavored to remove, telling him, that one 
of the old prophets was risen from the dead; but this did not 
satisfy him, and he declared that he believed it was John the 
Baptist risen from the dead. "And he said unto his servants, 
This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and there- 
fore mighty works do show forth themselves in him." Matt, 
xiv. 2. 

The Evangelists having on this account mentioned John the 
Baptist, inform us that Herod had put him to death; but when 
this happened is uncertain. 

It has already been observed, that Herod had cast John into 
prison for his boldness in reproving him for the adulterous com- 
merce in which he lived with his brother's wife. The sacred 
writers have not tolc( us how long he continued in prison; but 
it is plain from his two disciples, who came from him to our 
Saviour, that his followers did not forsake him in his melan- 
choly condition. Nay, Herod himself both respected and feared 
him, knowing that he was highly and deservedly beloved by the 
people; he consulted him often, and in many things followed 
his advice. But Herodias, his brother's wife, with whom he 
lived in so shameful a manner, being continually uneasy, lest 
Herod should be prevailed upon to set him at liberty, sought 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



159 



all opportunities to destroy him; and at last an incident hap- 
pened, which enabled her to accomplish her intention. 

The king having, on his birth-day, made a great feast for his 
friends, she sent her daughter Salome, whom she had by Philip, 
her lawful husband, into the saloon, to dance before the king 
and his guests. Her performance was remarkably elegant, and 
so charmed Herod, that he promised, with an oath, to give her 
whatever she asked. 

Having obtained so remarkable a promise, she ran to her 
mother, desiring to know what she would ask? and was instruc- 
ted by that wicked woman, to require the head of John the 
Baptist. 

So cruel a request thrilled every breast; the gaiety of the king 
was vanished; he was vexed and confounded. But being un- 
willing to appear either rash, fickle, or false, before a company 
of the first persons of his kingdom for rank and character, he 
commanded the head to be given her: not one of the guests 
having the courage to speak a single word in behalf of an inno- 
cent man, or attempt to divert Herod from his mad purpose, 
though he gave them an opportunity of doing it, by signifying 
to them that he performed his oath, merely out of regard to 
the company. Thus Herod, through a misplaced regard to 
his oath and his guests, committed a most unjust and cruel 
action; an action that will for ever brand his memory with 
dishonor, and render his very name detestable to the latest 
posterity. 

Soon after the command was given, the head of that vener- 
able prophet, whose rebukes had struck Herod with awe in his 
loosest moments, and whose exhortations had often excited him 
to virtuous actions, was brought, pale and bloody, in a char- 
ger, and given to the daughter of Herodias, in the presence of 
all the guests. 

The young lady eagerly received the bloody present, and 
carried it to her mother, who enjoyed the whole pleasure of 
revenge, and feasted her eyes with the sight of her enemy's 
head, now silent and harmless. But she could not silence the 
name of the Bapiist; it became louder, filling the earth and 
heavens, and publishing to every people and nation this woman's 
baseness and adultery. 

Thus fell that great and good man, John the Baptist, who 
was proclaimed, by our blessed Saviour himself, to be " more 
than a prophet." Josephus tells us that his whole crime con- 
sisted in exhorting the Jews to the love and practice of virtue; 
and, in the first place, to piety, justice and regeneration, or new- 
ness of life; and not by the abstinence from this or that particu- 
lar sin, but by an habitual purity of mind and body. 

It may not be improper on this cccasion to hint, that the his- 
19 



160 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tory of this birth-day, transmitted to posterity in the Scriptures, 
stands a perpetual beacon, to warn the great, the gay, and the 
young, to beware of dissolute mirth. Admonished by so fatal 
an example, they should be more careful to maintain, in the 
midst of their jollity, an habitual recollection of spirit, lest rea- 
son, at any time, enervated by the pleasures of sense, should 
slacken the rein of wisdom, or let it drop, though only for a 
moment; because their headstrong passions, ever impatient of 
control, may catch the opportunity, and rush with them into 
follies, whose consequences will be unspeakably, perhaps eter- 
nally bitter. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Our Lord adds to the confirmation of his Mission and Doctrine* 
by working a miracle in the wilderness of Beihsaida. — The 
people, struck with the power and grace of the blessed Jesus, pro- 
pose to raise him to the earthly dignity of King. — Peter, by 
means of his blessed Master, performs a miracle in walking upon 
the sea. — Our Lord's improvement of the miracles wrought in 
the Wilderness, introduced in a Discourse delivered in the Syn- 
agogue of Capernaum. 

The disciples were so alarmed at the cruel fate of the Bap- 
tist, whose memory they highly revered, that they returned 
from their mission, and assisted in performing the last offices 
to the body of their old master, many of the apostles having 
been originally disciples of John. As soon as these pious rites 
were over they repaired to Jesus, and told him all that had 
happened. 

Their compassionate Master on hearing this melancholy 
news, retired with them by sea into a desert place, belonging 
to Bethsaida, that by retirement, meditation and prayer, they 
might be refreshed and recruited for their spiritual labors; and, 
at the same time, leave an example to us that we should often 
retire from the noise and hurry of the world, and offer up the 
most fervent prayers to our heavenly Father. 

But the multitude attended so closely that their departure 
was not long concealed; and great numbers of people repaired 
to the place where they supposed Jesus and his disciples had 
secluded themselves. Struck with the greatness of his miracles 
on those that were sick, and anxious to hear more instructions 
from the mouth of so divine a teacher, no difficulties were too 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



161 



great for them to surmount, nor any place too retired for them 
to penetrate, in search of their retired preacher. 

Nor was the beneficent Saviour of the world regardless of 
their pious esteem. He saw them, he was " moved with com- 
passion" towards them, because they were as sheep not having a 
shepherd, multitudes of people without a pastor, a large harvest 
without laborers; motives abundantly sufficient to excite com- 
passion in the Son of God. 

The situation of those numerous throngs of people scattered 
abroad, without a guide, without a guardian; a large flock of 
defenceless sheep, without a single shepherd to defend them 
from the jaws of the infernal wolf, was truly deplorable; the 
blessed Jesus, therefore, that " good Shepherd, who came to lay 
down his life for the sheep," was moved with pity towards 
them: the same pity which brought him from the courts of 
heaven, for the sake of his lost and wandering sheep in the 
desert, now brought him to this multitude of people, whom he 
instructed in the doctrines of eternal life: and with his usual 
goodness healed all the sick among them. 

Intentionally devoted to teaching and healing the people, our 
blessed Saviour did not perceive the day to wear away, and that 
the greatest part of it was already spent: but his disciples, too 
anxious about the things of this world, thought proper to advise 
him of it; as if the Son of God wanted any directions from 
man. The day, said his disciples, is now far advanced, and 
the place a solitary desert, where neither food nor lodging can 
be procured: it would therefore be convenient to dismiss the 
people, that they may repair to the towns or villages, on the 
borders of the wilderness, and provide themselves with food and 
lodging; for they have nothing to eat. 

But our Lord prevented that trouble, by telling them there 
was no necessity for sending the people away to procure victuals 
for themselves, as they might satisfy the hunger of the multi- 
tude, by giving them to eat. And at the same time, to prove 
what opinion his disciples entertained of his power, addressed 
himself to Philip, who was well acquainted with the country, 
and said, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may 
eat?" 

Philip, astonished at the seeming impossibility of procuring a 
supply for so great a multitude, with the small sum of money 
which he knew was their all, and forgetting the extent of 
his Master's power, answered, " Two hundred pennyworth of 
bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may 
take a little." John. vi. 7. 

Our blessed Saviour might now have put the same question 
to Philip, that he did on another occasion: "Have I been so 
long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?" 



162 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



John, xiv. 9. Hast thou beheld so many miracles, and art still 
ignorant that I can supply food, not only for this people, but 
for all the sons of men, and for " the cattle upon a thousand 
hills?" 

But he contented himself with answering, "Give ye them to 
eat." The twelve not yet comprehending the design of their 
Master, repeated the objection of Philip; but added, that they 
were willing to expend their whole stock, in order to procure 
as large a supply as possible. "Shall we go," said they, "and 
buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, that they may eat?" 

But this was by no means the design of their great Master, 
who, instead of making a direct answer to their question, asked 
them, "How many loaves have ye?" How much provision can 
be found among this multitude? Go and see? 

The disciples obeyed the command of their Master; and 
Andrew soon returned, to inform him, that the whole stock 
amounted to no morp than five barley loaves, and two small 
fishes; a quantity so inconsiderable, that it scarcely deserved 
notice. "What are they," said this disciple, "among so many?" 
What, indeed, would they have been among such a multitude 
of people, if they had not been distributed by the creating hand 
of the Son of God? 

Jesus, notwithstanding the smallness of the number, ordered 
them to be brought to him; and immediately commanded the 
multitude to sit down on the grass, with which the place aboun- 
ded, directing his disciples at the same time to range them in 
a regular order, by hundreds and fifties in a company, each com- 
pany forming a long square, containing a hundred in a rank, 
and fifty in a file, that the number might be more easily ascer- 
tained, and the people more regularly served. 

The multitude being seated, Jesus took the loaves and fishes 
into his hands in sight of all the people, that they might be 
convinced of the small quantity of provisions that were then 
before them, and that they could only expect to be fed by his 
supernatural power. 

This done, he blessed them, and so peculiarly efficacious was 
his blessing, that these five barley loaves and two fishes were 
multiplied into a quantity sufficient to supply the wants of five 
thousand men, besides women and children, who, on the most 
favorable supposition, must amount to an equal number. "And 
Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distribu- 
ted to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set 
down; and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would." John, 
vi. 11. 

Thus did the compassionate and powerful Redeemer feed at 
least ten thousand people with five barley loaves and two small 
fishes, giving a magnificent proof both of his power and good- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



163 



ness. For after all had eaten to satisfy, they took up twelve 
baskets full of the broken pieces, a much larger quantity than 
was at first set before our Lord to divide. 

The literal account of this miracle, as recorded by the several 
Evangelists, is very plain, as well as circumstantial; and it is 
remarkable, that the circumstances of the place and time tended 
to magnify its greatness. The place was a desert, where there 
was no possibility of procuring any sustenance. Had he done 
this mighty work in any of the towns or villages round about, 
the Pharisees in those days, and the infidels of ours, might have 
objected that he had received secretly some supplies; but this, 
in the present case, was impossible. The time was the evening; 
the people had been all the day fasting, and consequently were 
ready for their meal; had it been done in the morning, they 
might have said, either that the people had been just refreshed, 
or were not hungry; consequently, the miracle not great. — 
But the time and place wholly removed all objections of this 
kind, and proved, beyond the possibility of doubt, that "God 
can furnish a table in the wilderness." 

The people, when they had seen the Saviour of the world 
perform so stupendous a miracle, were astonished above meas- 
ure; and in the height of their transport, purposed to take Jesus 
by force, and make him a king, concluding, that he must then 
assume the title of the Messiah, whose coming they had so long 
earnestly expected, and under whose reign they expected all 
kinds of temporal felicities. 

But our Lord well knowing the intentions of the multitude 
and the inclinations of his disciples to second them, ordered the 
latter to repair immediately to their boat, and sail for Beth- 
saida, while he sent away the multitude. They would, it seems^ 
gladly have detained the people, with whom they fully agreed 
in sentiments; and even lingered till he constrained them to get 
into the boat; so fully were they still possessed, that their Mas- 
ter was to take the reins of government, and become a power- 
ful prince over the house of Jacob. 

The people suffered the disciples to depart without the least 
remorse, as they saw that Jesus did not go with them. 

Perhaps they imagined he was sending them away to provide 
such things as they had need of. Nor did they refuse to disperse, 
when he commanded them, purposing to return in the morning, 
as we find they actually did. 

Having thus sent the disciples and the multitude away, Jesus 
repaired himself to the summit of a mountain, spending the eve- 
ning in heavenly contemplations and ardent prayers to his 
Almighty Father. 

But the disciples, meeting with a contrary wind, could not 
continue their course to Bethsaida, which lay about two leagues 



164 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to the northward of the desert mountain, where the multitude 
were miraculously fed. They, however, did all in their power 
to land as near that city as possible, but were tossed up and 
down all night by the tempest: so that at the conclusion of the 
fourth watch, or five o'clock in the morning, they were not 
above a league from the shore. 

Their divine Master beheld, from the mountain, their dis- 
tressed situation; but they were ignorant of his presence, though 
he was now coming to their relief. From hence we should 
learn, when the stormy billows of affliction assault and seem 
ready to overwhelm us, not to despair of relief; for he who 
beholds every particular of our distress hath not "forgotten to 
be gracious," but will surely come to our assistance, and work 
our deliverance, in a manner altogether unexpected. He often 
calms the storm of affliction that surrounds us, and commands 
the bellowing waves of distress to subside. Human wisdom, 
indeed, is often at a loss; it can discover no hopes of deliverance, 
nor see any way to escape: but the Almighty can easily effect 
the one, or point out the other. 

Such was the state of the disciples; they were tossed by 
boisterous waves, and opposed in their course by the rapid 
current of the wind, so that all hopes of reaching the place 
intended were vanished: when, behold, their heavenly Master, 
to assist them in this distressful situation, comes to them walking 
on the foaming surface of the sea. Their Lord's approach filled 
them with astonishment: they took him for one of the apostate 
spirits, and shrieked for fear. Their terrors were, however, 
soon removed; their great and affectionate Master talked to 
them, with the sound of whose voice they were perfectly ac- 
quainted. "Be of good cheer," said the blessed Jesus, "it is I; 
be not afraid." 

Peter, a man of warm and forward temper, beholding Jesus 
walking on the sea, was exceedingly amazed, and conceived 
the strange desire of being enabled to perform so wonderful 
an action. 

Accordingly, without the least reflection, he immediately 
begged, that his Master would bid him to come to him on 
the water. He did not doubt but that Jesus would gratify his 
request, as it sufficiently intimated that he would readily under- 
take any thing, however difficult, at the command of his Saviour. 
But it appeared that his faith was too weak to support him to 
that height of obedience to which he would have willingly 
soared. To convince this forward disciple of the weakness of 
his faith, and render him more diffident of his own strength, 
our blessed Saviour granted Peter his request. He ordered 
him to come to him upon the water. 

Peter joyfully obeyed his divine Master; he left the boat. 



PETER'S WANT OF FAITH. 

[Page 164.] 




" But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid: and beginning to sink, he 
cried, saying, Lord, save me." — Matt. xiv. 30. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



167 



and walked on the surface of the sea. But the wind increasing, 
made a dreadful noise, and the boisterous waves at the same 
time threatened every moment to overwhelm him. His faith 
now staggered; his presence of mind forsook him; he forgot 
that his Saviour was at hand; and in proportion as his faith 
decreased, the waters yielded, and he sunk. In this extremity 
he looked around for his Master; and on the very brink of 
being swallowed up, cried, "Lord, save me!" His cry was 
not disregarded by his compassionate Saviour; "he stretched 
forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou, of 
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" 

Peter was convinced, before he left the ship, that it was 
Jesus who was coming to them on the water: nor did he 
even doubt it when he was sinking, because he then implored 
his assistance. But when he found the storm increase, and the 
billows rage more horribly than before, his fears suggested, that 
either his Master would be unable or unwilling to support him 
amidst the frightful blasts of the tempest. 

His fears were therefore both unreasonable and culpable: 
unreasonable, because the same power that had enabled him 
to walk on the surface of the deep, was abundantly sufficient 
to support him there, notwithstanding all the horrors of the 
storm; culpable, because he considered his Master as unable 
to preserve him, or that he paid no regard to his promise; for 
Jesus had virtually promised him his assistance, when he granted 
this petition. This circumstance should teach us not to be pre- 
sumptuous and self-sufficient; nor to rush on dangers, and fly 
in the face of opposition, unless there is a necessity for so 
doing. We should never refuse to undertake any action, 
however difficult, when the cause of Christ calls upon us; or 
abandon the paths of virtue from a fear of the resentment of 
the children of this world: but we should, at the same time, 
be careful not to go farther than necessity obliges us, lest, like 
Peter, we repent our own temerity. 

This miracle alarmed the disciples, for though they had so 
very lately seen the miracle of the five loaves, they did not 
seem to have before formed a proper idea of his power; but 
being now persuaded that he could be no other than the 
expected Messiah, they "came and worshipped him, saying, 
Of a truth, thou art the Son of God." Matt. xiv. 33. 

Our Saviour seems to have confirmed this miracle, by work- 
ing another: for the Evangelists tell us, that he had no sooner 
entered the ship, and hushed the horrors of the storm, than 
they arrived at the place whither they were going. "Then 
they willingly received him into the ship; and immediately the 
ship was at the land, whither they went." Jo/m, vi. 21. 

When our Lord disembarked, the inhabitants of the neigh- 



168 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



boring country ran to him, bringing with them all those that 
were sick, and they were all healed. It must be remembered, 
that though Jesus ordinarily resided in the neighborhood of 
Capernaum, yet he had been absent ever since his visiting Naz- 
areth, and therefore, it is natural to think, that the inhabitants, 
on his return, would not omit the opportunity of bringing their 
sick in such prodigious crowds, that it seems our blessed Saviour 
did not bestow particular attention on each of them; and this 
was the reason for their beseeching him, "that they might only 
touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were 
made perfectly whole." Matt. xiv. 36. 

The virtue of that power by which he wrought these things 
lay not in his garments, for then the soldiers, who seized them 
at his crucifixion, might have wrought the same miracles; but 
it was because Jesus wished it to be so. It was now the accep- 
table time, the day of salvation, foretold by Isaiah, and Christ's 
power was sufficient to remove any distemper whatsoever. 

It has been mentioned that our blessed Saviour, after miracu- 
lously feeding the people, ordered them to disperse, and retire 
to their places of abode. ' 

The former command they obeyed, but, instead of complying 
with the latter, they staid in the neighborhood of the desert 
mountain; and observing that no boat had come thither since 
the disciples left their Master, they concluded that Jesus still 
continued in that place, and had no design of leaving his attend- 
ants. Hence they were persuaded, that though Jesus had 
modestly declined the honor of being made a king, he would 
accept it the next day; especially as they might fancy his dis- 
ciples were dispatched to the other side, with no other intention 
than to prepare every thing necessary for that purpose. Hopes 
like these, animated them to continue in this solitary wilder- 
ness, and take up their lodgings in the caverns of the rocks and 
mountains, notwithstanding their difficulties were greatly in- 
creased by the raging of the storm. 

But no sooner did the cheering rays of light appear, than the 
multitude left their retreat, and searched for Jesus in every 
part of the mountain, to the summit of which they had seen 
him retire. Finding their search in vain, they concluded that 
he must have departed for the other side, in some boat belong- 
ing to Tiberias, which had been forced by the storm to take 
shelter in a creek at the foot of the mountain. Accordingly, 
they repaired to Capernaum, where they found him in the 
synagogue, teaching the people; and could not help asking him, 
with "some surprise, "Habbi, when earnest thou hither?" John, 
vi. 25. 

To this question our Lord replied, that they did not seek him 
because they were convinced by his miracles of the truth of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



109 



his mission, but because they hoped to be continually fed in 
the same miraculous manner as before. "Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but be- 
cause ye did eat of the loaves and were filled." These are the 
views which induce ye to follow me ; but ye are entirely mista- 
ken; for happiness does not consist in the meat that perisheth, 
nor is it that sort of meat ye must expect to receive from the 
Messiah. Mere animal foods, which please and delight the 
body only, are not the gifts he came down from heaven to be- 
stow; it is the meat that endureth to everlasting life, divine 
knowledge and grace, which, by invigorating all the faculties 
of the soul, make it at once incorruptible and immortal: neither 
ought ye to follow the Son of Man with any intention to obtain 
the meat that perisheth; but in the hope of being rewarded 
vrith the meat that endureth to everlasting life. "Labor not 
for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth 
unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you: 
for him hath God the Father sealed." John, vi. 27. 

The Jews, who were accustomed to the metaphors of meat 
and drink, as they are frequently found in the writings of their 
own prophets, to signify wisdom and knowledge, might easily 
have understood what our blessed Saviour meant by the meat 
"enduring to everlasting life." They, however entirely mis- 
took him; imagining that he spake of some delicious healthful 
animal food, which would render them immortal, and which 
was only to be procured under the government of their great 
Messiah. It is therefore no wonder that his exhortation should 
so greatly affect them, that they asked him what they should do 
to erect the Messiah's kingdom, and obtain that excellent 
meat which he said God had authorized him to give to his fol- 
lowers? 

The Jews were elated with the prospect of the mighty empire 
the promised Messiah was to establish; and, doubtlessly, ex- 
pected that Jesus would have bidden them first to rise against 
the Romans, vindicate their own liberties, and then establish in 
every country, by the terror of fire and sword, the authority of 
that powerful prince so long expected by the Jewish nation. — 
To convince them, therefore, of their mistake, and inform them 
what God really required of them, towards erecting the Mes- 
siah's kingdom, Jesus told them, that they should believe on the 
person sent to them from the God of Jacob; but at this answer 
they were exceedingly offended. They were persuaded that he 
could not be the Messiah promised in the law and the prophets, 
who took no care to erect a temporal kingdom. And some of 
them, more audacious than the rest, had the confidence to tell 
him, that since he assumed the character of the Messiah, and 
required them to believe in him as such, it was necessary that 

20 



170 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



he should perform greater miracles than either Moses or any of 
the old prophets, if he was desirous of convincing them, that 
they ought to believe him the long promised Messiah. "They 
said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we 
may see, and believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers 
did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread 
from heaven to eat." John, vi. 30. 

By extolling the miracle of the manna, by calling it bread 
from heaven, and by insinuating that this miracle was wrought 
by Moses, the Jews endeavored to depreciate both Christ's 
mission and his miracle of the loaves. They considered this 
miracle as a single meal of terrestrial food, at which but a few 
thousands had been fed; whereas, Moses had supported the 
whole Jewish nation, during the space of forty years, in the 
wilderness, by celestial food. To this objection the blessed 
Jesus replied, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you 
not that bread from heaven ; but my Father giveth you the true 
bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh 
down from heaven^ and giveth life unto the world." John, vi. 
32, 33. Moses did not give you the manna that fell around 
the camp in the wilderness, nor did it descend from heaven; 
it was formed in the regions of the air, by the omnipotent hand 
of the God of Jacob. But, by the miracle of the loaves, my 
heavenly Father hath typified the true, the spiritual, the heav- 
enly bread, which he himself giveth to the sons of men, and 
of which the manna was only a symbolical representation: the 
food that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness was sufficient 
only for a single nation; but this for all the children of men. 

Many of the Jews, who listened with pleasure to his doctrine, 
having heard him describe the properties of the celestial bread, 
were animated with an earnest desire of being always fed with 
it. "Lord," said they, "evermore give us this bread;" to which 
the blessed Jesus answered, " I am the bread of life. He that 
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me 
shall never thirst." John, vi. 35. 

Having made this answer to those who listened attentively to 
his doctrine, he turned himself to such as had heard him with 
prejudice, and took every advantage of wresting his words. 
You ask me, says he, to show you a sign, that ye may see and 
believe me to be the true Messiah. Surely you have seen it: 
you have seen my character and mission in the many miracles I 
have performed: miracles abundantly sufficient to convince you 
that I am really the Messiah so often promised by the ancient 
prophets, so long expected by the whole Jewish nation. But, 
notwithstanding all these proofs, your hearts are still hardened; 
you expect a temporal prince, who shall raise the Jewish king- 
dom above all the empires of the earth: and because I do not 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 171 

affect the authority and pomp of an earthly monarch, you reject 
me, as an impostor. Your infidelity, therefore, does not pro- 
ceed from want of evidence, as you vainly pretend, but from 
the perverseness of your own dispositions, which may perhaps 
in time be overcome; for all those that the Father hath given 
me, however obstinate they may be for a season, will at last 
believe on the Son of God. Nor will I ever reject any that 
come to me, however low their circumstances may be, however 
vile they may appear in their own eyes, or however greatly 
their violence against my doctrines may have been exerted. I 
came down from heaven not to act according to the common 
method of human passions, which excite men to return evil for 
evil; but to bear with them; to try all possible means to bring 
them to repentance; and lead them in the straight paths of virtue, 
which terminate at the mansions of the heavenly Canaan. 

It is the fixed will of my Father, to bestow eternal life on all 
who truly believe in me; and, therefore, I will raise them up at 
the last day. 

As the prospect of the greatest part of the Jews extended no 
farther than temporal privileges and advantages, it is no wonder 
that they were offended at this doctrine; especially at his affirm- 
ing that he was the bread of life, and that he came down from 
heaven. Was not this man, said they, born into the world like 
other mortals? And are we not acquainted with his parents? 
How, then, can he pretend to come down from heaven? 

But these degrading thoughts could not escape the censure of 
him to whom nothing is a secret. You need not, said the blessed 
Jesus, object to my birth, and the meanness of my relations, nor 
consider them as inconsistent with my heavenly extraction. 
For, while you believe your teachers, who have so shamefully 
corrupted the oracles of Omnipotence, and filled your minds 
with the vain expectation of a temporal kingdom, you cannot 
believe on me. No man can believe on the Son of God, un- 
less he be persuaded by the Father. You need not be surprised 
at this; for however ye may imagine that all men, at the ap- 
pearance of the Messiah, will flock to him with great cheerfulness, 
and become the willing subjects of his kingdom, without any ex- 
traordinary means of persuasion, the prophets plainly foretold 
the contrary: for they promise that men shall enjoy the teaching 
of the Father, in a far more eminent manner during the Mes- 
siah's kingdom, than under any preceding dispensation; conse- 
quently, persuasion, and the most earnest persuasion too, is 
necessary. You are not to understand that by being taught of 
Goa, you are to see, with your bodily eyes, the invisible Jeho- 
vah, because that privilege is confined to the Son alone; but that 
you are to be taught by the Spirit of God whatever is requisite 



172 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



for your eternal interest in and by me, who am the way, the 
truth, and the life. 

Having thus asserted the dignity of his mission, and demon- 
strated that it really belonged to him, the blessed Jesus examined 
the comparison between himself, considered as the bread from 
heaven, and the manna which Moses provided for their fathers 
in the wilderness. The manna, said he, which your fathers ate 
in the desert, could not preserve them from temporal death; but 
the bread which came down from heaven will render men immor- 
tal. " I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if 
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread 
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
world." John vi. 51. 

Though the divine teacher, on this occasion, made use of no 
other expressions than what the Jews had been accustomed to 
interpret in a figurative sense; yet, so great was their perverseness, 
that they considered them as spoken literally, and were aston- 
ished beyond measure at what he could mean, by saying he 
would give them "his flesh to eat." Jesus, however, knowing 
how unreasonable his hearers were, did not proceed to explain 
himself more particularly at this time. But persisting in the 
same figurative manner of expression, he repeated and afhrmed 
more earnestly, what he had before asserted. Except, said he, 
ye be entirely united to me by a hearty practice and belief of 
my doctrine, partake of the merit of that sacrifice that I shall 
offer for the sins of the world, continue in the communion of my 
religion, and receive spiritual nourishment by the continual 
participation of those means of grace which I shall purchase 
for you by my death, ye can never enter the happy mansions 
of eternity. "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, 
hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood drink indeed." — 
John, vi. 54, 55. 

This is the bread which came down from heaven: a kind of 
bread infinitely superior to that of manna, both in its nature and 
efficacy. It is different in its nature from manna, because it 
is not to be eaten, as your fathers did that food in the wilder- 
ness; "they ate manna, and are dead."' It is different in its 
effect, because he that "eateth of this bread shall live for 
ever" 

These particulars Jesus spake in the hearing of all the people 
who attended the public worship in the synagogue of Capernaum; 
and though most of the metaphors were very easy to be under- 
stood, yet they could not comprehend what he meant, by "eat- 
ing his flesh, and drinking his blood:" a thing not only prohib- 
ited by the laws of Moses, but also repugnant to the customs of 
all civilized nations. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



173 



Many, therefore, who had followed him, considered it as in- 
consistent, and absolutely absurd. But Jesus answered, Are 
you offended because I told you my flesh is bread; that it came 
down from heaven; and that you must, in order to have eternal 
life, eat my flesh and drink my blood? But what if ye shall 
see the Son of Man ascend up bodily into heaven, from whence 
he was sent by his heavenly Father? You will then surely be 
persuaded that I really came from heaven; and at the same 
time be convinced that you cannot eat my flesh in a corpo- 
real manner. 

I never meant that you should understand the expression 
literally; my flesh in that case would be of no advantage to 
the children of men. The metaphor was only used to indicate 
that you must believe in the doctrines which I preach; for 
to reveal these I took upon me the veil of flesh, and assumed 
the nature of man. It is, therefore, more properly my Spirit that 
confers this life on the human race, and renders them immortal. 

My doctrine may, perhaps, be ineffectual to some of you, 
because ye are desirous of perverting it, and from thence to form 
a pretence for forsaking me. I well know the secret recesses of 
every heart; and therefore told you that no man can believe on 
me, except it was given him of my Father. 

The self-sufficient, self-righteous Jews were so offended at this 
discourse, that many of them, who had hitherto been our Sa- 
viour's disciples, went out of the synagogue, and never came 
more to hear him. They found that all their pleasing views of 
worldly grandeur, and an extensive kingdom, could have nothing 
more than an ideal foundation if they acknowledged Jesus to be 
the Messiah. And as they were unwilling to abandon all their 
favorite hopes of power, they refused to own him for the great 
Redeemer of Israel they had so long expected. 

When the Jews were departed, Jesus turned himself to his 
disciples, and with a look of ineffable sweetness, said to them, 
"Will ye go away?" To this Peter answered, 44 Lord, to whom 
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life! And we 
believe and are sure, that thou art that Christ the Son of the 
living God." John, vi. 68, 69. 

Peter, in this reply, alluded to our Lord's declaration of him- 
self, in which he says, that he was the bread of life, founding his 
faith in him -as the Messiah. 

But Jesus, to convince him that he was not ignorant of the 
most secret thoughts of the heart, nor afraid that his enemies 
should be spectators of his most retired actions, told him, that 
one of the twelve was a wicked man, and would be guilty of 
the vilest action. The prediction of Jesus was punctually veri- 
fied, when Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve chosen disciples, 
basely betrayed his great Lord and Master. 



174 LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Pharisaical superstition severely reprimanded, — The great Redeemer 
continues to display his power and benevolence in the relief of 
several objects of affliction. — Guards his disciples against the pre- 
vailing errors and fallacies of the Scribes and Pharisees. — Pro- 
ceeds on the works of his Heavenly Father. 

The season of the grand passover approaching, Jesus went 
up to Jerusalem, to attend that solemnity. But the Jews being 
offended at his discourse in the synagogue of Capernaum, made 
an attempt upon his life. Our Lord, therefore, finding it im- 
possible to remain at Jerusalem in safety, departed from that 
city, and retired into Galilee. 

The Pharisees were sensible they could not perpetrate their 
malicious designs upon him on that occasion; they therefore 
followed him, hoping to find something by which they might 
accuse him; and at length ventured to attack him for permitting 
his disciples to eat with unwashed hands, because, in so doing, 
they transgressed the tradition of the elders. 

Moses had, indeed, required external cleanness as a part of 
their religion; but it was only to signify how careful the ser- 
vants of the Almighty should be to purify themselves from all 
uncleanness, both of flesh and spirit. These ceremonial institu- 
tions were, in process of time, prodigiousy multiplied, and the 
Pharisees, who pretended to observe every tittle of the law, con- 
sidered it as a notorious offence to eat bread with unwashed 
hands, though at the same time they suffered the more weighty 
precepts of the law to be neglected and forgotten. 

To expose the absurdity of such superstitious customs, our 
Saviour applied to them the words of the prophet Isaiah, "This 
people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from 
me." Adding, that all their worship was vain, and displeasing 
to the Almighty, while they praised themselves, and imposed 
upon others the frivolous precepts of man's invention, and at the 
same time neglected the eternal rules of righteousness: and to 
remove all objections that might be brought against this imputa- 
tion of gross profaneness in the Pharisees, he supported it by 
a very remarkable instance. 

God, said the Saviour of the world, hath commanded chil- 
dren to honor their parents, and to maintain them, when re- 
duced to poverty, by sickness, age, or misfortunes, promising 
life to such as obey this precept, and threatening death to those 
who disregard it. But notwithstanding the peremptory com- 
mandment of Omnipotence, you teach, that it is a more sacred 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



175 



duty to enrich the temple than to nourish their parents, redu- 
ced to the utmost necessity; pretending that what is offered to 
the great Parent of the universe is much better bestowed than 
what is given to the support of our earthly parents; making the 
interest of God absolutely different from that of his creatures. 
Nay, ye teach, that it is no breach of the commandment for a 
man to suffer his parents to perish, provided he has given what 
ought to nourish them, to the temple of Jerusalem. Thus have 
ye concealed, under the cloak of piety, the most horrid, the 
most unnatural crime any person can commit. 

Having thus reproved the Pharisees, he called the multitude 
to him, and desired them to reflect on the absurdity of the pre- 
cepts inculcated by the Scribes. These hypocrites, said he, 
solicitous about trifles, neglect the great duties of morality, which 
are of eternal obligation. They shudder with horror at un- 
washed hands, but are perfectly easy under the guilt of a pollu- 
ted conscience, though they must be sensible, that "not that 
which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but that which 
cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." Matt. xv. 11. 

The haughty Pharisees were highly offended at his speaking 
in a degrading manner of their traditions. And the apostles, 
who would gladly have reconciled their Master and the Phari- 
sees, insinuated to Jesus that he ought to have acted in another 
manner. To which our Saviour answered, "Every plant which 
my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." — 
Matt. xv. 13. As if he had said, you have not cause to fear 
their anger, as both they and their doctrine shall perish together, 
for neither of them came from God. Adding, "Let them alone: 
they be blind, leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the 
blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Matt. xv. 14. 

His disciples, not fully comprehending this doctrine, desired 
their Master to explain it. This our Saviour complied with, and 
showed them that meats being of a corporeal nature, could not 
defile the mind of man, or render him polluted in the sight of 
the Almighty, unless they are used to excess, or in opposition 
to the commandment of God; and even then the pollution arose 
from the man, and not from the meat. But, on the contrary, 
that which proceedeth out of the mouth of a man comes from 
his heart, and really polluteth his mind. 

These doctrines of truth could not fail of irritating the Phari- 
sees, as they tended to strip them of the mask with which they 
concealed their deformity, and rendered themselve so venerable 
in the eyes of the vulgar; and therefore their plots were leveled 
against his reputation and life. 

Jesus, to avoid their malice, retired to the very borders of 
Palestine, to the coast of those two celebrated Gentile cities, 
Tyre and Sidon, proposing there to conceal himself for a time; 



176 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



but he could not be hid. It was as impossible for the divine 
"Son of righteousness" to be concealed where he came with 
his healing wings and message of peace, as it is for the sun in 
the firmament, when he riseth in all his glory, "as a bridegroom 
cometh out of his chamber, and as a giant rejoiceth to run his 
course." For a certain woman of Canaan, having heard of him, 
determined to implore his assistance. She was, indeed, one of 
the most abject sort of Gentiles, a Canaanite, one of tbat detes- 
ted race with which the Jews would have no dealing, nor even 
conversation; but notwithstanding all these discouraging circum- 
stances, she threw herself, as an humble petitioner, on the be- 
nevolent mercies of the Son of God. Strong necessity urged 
her on; and insuperable distress caused her to be importunate. 
Alas! unhappy parent! her only daughter, her beloved child, 
had an unclean spirit, "was grievously vexed with a devil." 

Is it not at the first view astonishing that such a petitioner 
should be rejected; and rejected by a bountiful and merciful 
Redeemer, who kindly invited all that were heavy laden to 
come to him; who promised never to cast out any that would 
come, and whose business it was "to go about doing good?*' 

We, however, find he answered this woman not a word: he 
did not, in appearance, take the least notice, either of her or 
her distress. But this silence did not intimidate her; she still 
cried, she still besought, she still importunately pressed her peti- 
tion; so that the very disciples were moved with her cries, and 
became her advocates. They themselves, though Jews, besought 
their master to dismiss this petitioner, to grant her request, and 
to send her away. 

But Jesus soon silenced them, by an answer agreeable to their 
own prejudices. "I am not sent," said he, "but unto the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel." To this the disciples readily as- 
sented; and as they had a high opinion of the Jews prerogative, 
were so well satisfied with the answer, that we hear them plead- 
ing no more for this lost, this miserable Gentile. 

But this soothed not her griefs; it was her own cause, and 
what is immediately our own concern animates us to the most 
zealous application. Somewhat encouraged that she was the 
subject of discourse between our Lord and his disciples, she ven- 
tured to approach the Saviour of the world, though she well 
knew that the law actually forbade such an intercourse; yet she 
came, she worshipped "this Son of David," she confessed again 
his divinity, and prayed, saying, "Lord, help me!" 

The compassionate Saviour now condescended to speak to 
her, but with words seemingly sufficient to have discouraged 
every farther attempt; nay, to have filled her with bitter dislike 
to his person, though she had conceived such high and noble 
notions of his mercy and favor: "It is not meet," said he, "to 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



177 



take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs." Matt. xv. 
26. It is not justice to deprive the Jews, who are the children 
of the covenant, the descendants of Abraham, of any part of 
those blessings which I came into the world to bestow, espe- 
cially to you, who are aliens and strangers from the common- 
wealth of Israel. 

This answer, though severe, could not shake her humility nor 
overcome her patience; she meekly answered, "Truth, Lord; 
yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's 
table." Matt. xv. 27. Let me enjoy that kindness which the 
dogs of any family are not denied; from the plenty of miracu- 
lous cures, which thou bestowest on the Jews, drop this one to 
me, who am a poor distressed heathen: for they will suffer no 
greater loss by it, than the children of a family do by the 
crumbs which are cast to the dogs. 

Our Lord having put the woman's faith to a very severe trial, 
and well knowing that she possessed a just notion of his power 
and goodness, as well as of her own unworthiness, wrought with 
pleasure the cure she solicited in behalf of her daughter; and, 
at the same time, gave her faith the praises it so justly deser- 
ved. "Oh! woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as 
thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very 
hour." Matt. xv. 28. 

After performing this miracle, Jesus returned to the sea of 
Galilee, through the region of Decapolis. In this country a 
man was brought to him who was deaf, and had an impediment 
in his speech. Objects in distress were always treated with 
benevolence by the holy Jesus: but as the people now thronged 
about him, in expectation that he would soon establish his king- 
dom, he thought proper to take the man, with his relations, 
aside from the multitude; after which he put his fingers in his 
ears, and touched his tongue, that the deaf man, who could 
not be instructed by language, might know from whence all his 
benefits flowed. He then "looked up to heaven, he sighed, and 
saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straight- 
way his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was 
loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they 
should tell no man." Mark, vii. 34, 35, 36. 

But, notwithstanding they were enjoined to secrecy, the man, 
or his relations published it in every part of the country, doubt- 
less thinking they could not be too lavish in the praises of so 
great a benefactor: especially as the modesty with which he had 
performed the cure abundantly demonstrated that his sole view 
was the benefit of the human race. 

This rumor gathered the multitude round him in Decapolis: 
for the fame of his miracles was extended to every corner of the 
country. He therefore, to avoid the prodigious crowds of people, 

21 



178 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



retired into a desert mountain, near the sea of Galilee. But 
the solitary retreats of the wilderness were unable to conceal 
this beneficent Saviour of the human race. They soon dis- 
covered his retreat, and brought to him from all quarters the 
sick, the lame, the dumb, the blind and the maimed. The sight 
of so many objects in distress so excited the compassion of the 
Son of God, that he graciously released them from all their 
complaints. Miracles like these, could not fail of astonishing 
the spectators, especially those performed upon the dumb; for it 
must be remembered that he not only conferred on those the 
faculty of hearing, and pronouncing articulate sounds, but con- 
veyed at onqe into their minds the whole language of their 
country; they were instantly acquainted with all the words it 
contained, their signification, their forms, their powers, and their 
uses: at the same time they enjoyed the habit of speaking it both 
fluently and copiously. This was surely enough to demonstrate 
to the most stupid, that such works could have been effected by 
nothing less than infinite power, "The multitude wondered, 
when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the 
lame to walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of 
Israel." Matt. xv. 31. 

The various works performed by the blessed Redeemer de- 
tained the multitude in the desert with him three days, during 
which time they consumed all the provisions they had brought 
into this solitary place. But Jesus would not send them away 
fasting, lest any who had followed him so far from their habita- 
tions should faint in their return. Accordingly he again ex- 
erted his almighty power, to feed the multitude a second time 
in the wilderness. 

It is highly worthy of our notice, the great wisdom of our 
blessed Saviour, in choosing to spend so great a part of the time 
he executed his public ministry, in the wilderness, and in solitary 
places. He did not seek the applauses of men, but the eternal 
salvation of their souls; and therefore often delivered his doc- 
trines in the the silent retreats thereof: in consequence of which 
he was followed by such only as had dispositions adapted for 
profiting by his instructions. It could not be supposed that 
many of different dispositions would accompany him into soli- 
tudes, where they were to sustain the inconveniences of hunger 
for several days successively, and be at the same time exposed 
to all the inclemencies of the weather. Those only who were 
desirous of instruction, could, therefore, be expected to follow 
the blessed Jesus into those retired parts; and on those, doubt- 
less, his doctrine distilled like dew, and like the small rain upon 
the tender herb. Happy mortals! who thus exchanged the 
shallow and frothy streams of folly, for the deep and salutary 
rivers of eternal wisdom; who left the noise and bustle of a cov- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



179 



etous, bigoted people, for the calm instructions of the Son of 
God; and exchanged the perishing bread of this world for the 
"bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven!" 

After feeding the multitude miraculously, Jesus retired into 
a district, called Dalmanutha, a part of the territory of Magdala. 
Here he was visited by the Pharisees, who, having heard that he 
had a second time fed the multitude miraculously, were fearful 
that the common people would acknowledge him for the Mes- 
siah: and therefore determined openly and publicly to confute 
his pretensions to that character. 

In order to do this, they boldly demanded of him a sign from 
heaven: for it must be remembered, that the Jews expected the 
Messiah would make his first public appearance in the clouds of 
heaven, and in a glorious manner establish a temporal kingdom. 
This opinion was founded on the following prophecy of Daniel, 
which they understood literally: "I saw in the night visions, 
and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of 
heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought 
him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, 
should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away; and his kingdom, that which shall 
not be destroyed." Daniel, vii. 13, 14. 

It is therefore evident, that the Pharisees, by desiring Jesus to 
show them a sign from heaven, meant that he should demonstrate 
himself to be the Messiah, by coming in a visible and miraculous 
manner from heaven, and wresting with great pomp the sceptre 
of David from the hands of the Romans. 

If the minds of the Pharisees had been open to conviction, 
the proofs which Jesus was daily giving them would have been 
more than sufficient to establish the truth of his mission, and 
demonstrate that he was the long expected Messiah. 

But they were not desirous of being convinced; and to that 
alone, and not to want of evidence, or of capacity in themselves, 
it was owing that they refused to acknowledge our Saviour to be 
the person foretold by the prophets. Their disposition was 
absolutely incorrigible; so that Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit, 
and declared that the sign they sought should never be given 
them; and that the only sign they were to expect was that of the 
prophet Jonas, or the miracle of his own resurrection: a sign 
indeed much greater than any shown by the ancient prophets; 
and consequently a sign which demonstrated that Jesus was far 
superior to them all. "A wicked and adulterous generation 
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but 
the sign of the prophet Jonas." Matt. xvi. 4. 

Having thus reproved the impertinent curiosity of the Phari- 
sees, he departed, with his disciples, and entered into a ship; 



180 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and as they sailed, he cautioned them to beware of the doctrine 
of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which he termed leaven, from 
its pernicious influence in filling the minds of men with pride, 
and other irregular passions: these hypocrites chiefly insisted on 
the observation of frivolous traditions, but neglected the true 
principles of piety, and hence filled the minds of their hearers 
with a high opinion of their own sanctity. 

But the disciples having forgotten to take bread with them, 
understood that he intended to caution them against procuring 
it from the heathens or Samaritans. They were so weak, as not 
to think that their Master, who had fed some thousands of people 
with five loaves, was also capable of providing for them in their 
necessities. 

On his landing at Bethsaida, they brought unto him a blind 
man, desiring that he would heal him: Jesus, accordingly took 
the man by the hand, and led him out of the city, and having 
spit upon his eyes, and put his hands upon him, asked him if he 
saw aught? To which the man answered, "I see men as trees 
walking." A very poor expression to convey an idea of the 
indistinctness of his vision. Jesus then put his hands again upon 
him, and he was restored to sight, "and saw every man clearly." 
It should be remembered that the people of Bethsaida had, by 
their ingratitude, impertinence, and infidelty, greatly displeased 
the Saviour of the world: and this, perhaps, was the reason 
why Jesus would not perform the cure in the city, but led the 
man out into the adjacent plain. The people had also, for a 
long time, been solicitous that he would take upon himself the 
character of the temporal Messiah; and therefore he chose to 
perform this miracle without the city, to prevent their farther 
importunity, so incompatible with the modesty and lowliness of 
our dear Lord and Master. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The blessed Jesus delegates a special power to Peter, one of his Dis- 
ciples. — Pronounces the final judgment of the world, and is after- 
wards transfigured upon the Mount. 

Jesus having displayed his power and goodness in restoring 
the blind man to sight, departed from Bethsaida, and retired 
into the territory of Caesarea Philippi, where, being desirous of 
proving, in some measure, the faith of the apostles, he asked 
them, saying, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am V 
In answer to this question, the disciples replied, " Some say. 



GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLINH 

[Page 180.] 




"But they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. 
"And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that 1 shall do unto 
you? 

" They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened." — Matt. xx. 31 — 33. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



183 



that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others Jeremias, 
or one of the prophets." Matt. xvi. 14. 

The people in general mistook the character of our Saviour, 
because he did not assume that outward pomp and grandeur 
with which they supposed the Messiah would be adorned. Jesus 
was therefore desirous of hearing what idea his disciples formed 
of his character, as they had long enjoyed the benefit of his 
doctrines and miracles; and accordingly asked them, What they 
themselves understood him to be? To this question Simon Pe- 
ter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

Our Saviour acknowledged the title; telling Peter that God 
alone had revealed the secret to him. And in allusion to his 
surname, Peter, which signifies a rock, our Saviour promised 
that he should have a principal hand in establishing his king- 
dom; and that the Christian church should be erected on his 
labors, as on a solid foundation, never to be destroyed. 44 And I 
say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: 
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: 
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heav- 
en." Matt. xvi. 18, 19. 

Having delegated this power to Peter, our Saviour strictly 
forbade his disciples to tell any man that he was the Messiah; 
because it had been decreed in the courts of heaven that he 
should be rejected by the rulers of Israel as a false Christ, and 
suffer the pains of death. "Then charged he his disciples, that 
they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ." Matt. xvi. 
20. Circumstances which could not fail of giving his followers 
great offence, as they did not yet understand the true nature of 
his kingdom; and therefore he thought proper to let every man 
form a judgment of his mission, from his doctrine and miracles. 

The foregoing discourses had doubtless filled the apostles' 
minds with lofty imaginations, and therefore our Saviour thought 
proper to acquaint them with his sufferings, in order to check any 
fond expectation of temporal power. Peter, mrwever, was 
greatly displeased to hear his Master talk of dying at Jerusalem, 
when he had just before acknowledged the title of Messiah. 
Accordingly, he rebuked him for the expression, which he was 
so bold as to think unguarded. But Jesus, turning himself 
about, said to Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an 
offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, 
but those that be of men." Matt. xvi. 23. 

Peters conduct in this respect, arising from an immoderate 
attachment to sensual objects, our Saviour thought proper to 
declare publicly, that all who intended to share with him in 
the glory of the heavenly Canaan, must deny themselves; that 



184 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



is, they must be always ready to renounce every worldly pleas- 
ure, and even life itself, when the cause of religion required it: 
he also told them, that in this life they must expect to meet with 
troubles and disappointments; and, that whoever intended to 
be his disciple, must "take up his cross daily, and follow him." 

Thus did the blessed Jesus fully explain to his disciples the 
true nature of his kingdom; and at the same time intimated, that 
though they had already undergone many afflictions, yet they 
must expect still more, and greater, which they must sustain 
with equal fortitude, following their Master in the footsteps of 
his afflictions. This duty, however hard, was absolutely neces- 
sary; because, by losing their temporal life, they would gain 
that which was eternal: "For whosoever will save his life, shall 
lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same 
shall save it." Luke, ix. 24. "For what is a man profited, if 
he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? — 
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt* 
xvi. 26. 

To add to the weight of this argument, and to enforce the 
necessity of self-denial, our Saviour particularly declared, that 
a day was fixed for distributing rewards and punishments to all 
the human race; and that he himself was appointed by the Fa- 
ther as universal Judge; so that his enemies could not flatter 
themselves with the hope of escaping the punishments they de- 
served, nor his friends be afraid of losing their eternal reward. 
"Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me and my words, 
in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the 
Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his 
Father, with the holy angels." Mark, viii. 38. 

To fortify the minds of his disciples, he informed them, that 
he would not appear to judge the world in his low and des- 
pised condition, but magnificently arrayed in both his own and 
his Father's glory; nor attended by twelve weak disciples, but 
surrounded by myriads of celestial spirits, with numberless hosts 
of mighty angels; nor should his rewards be the great offices 
and large possessions of a temporal kingdom, but the joys of 
immortality. 

As this doctrine of Christ being appointed the universal judge 
might appear incredible at that time on account of his humilia- 
tion, he told them, that some who heard him speak should not 
taste of death, till they saw him coming in his kingdom. " Ver- 
ily, I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not 
taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his king- 
dom." Matt, xvi. 28. 

There are some here present that shall not die till they see 
a faint representation of the glory in which I shall come at the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



185 



last day, and an eminent example of my power inflicted on the 
men of this sinful generation. 

To verify which prediction, the disciples lived to see their 
Master coming in his kingdom, when they were witnesses of 
his transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension, and had the 
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit conferred upon them; lived 
to see Jerusalem, with the Jewish state destroyed; and the 
gospel propagated through the greatest part of the then known 
world. 

About eight days after this discourse, our blessed Saviour being 
with the multitude in the country of Cassarea Philippi, left them 
in the plain, and, accompanied with Peter, James and John, 
ascended an exceedingly high mountain. 

In this solitude, while Jesus was praying with these three 
disciples, he was transfigured; his face became radiant and daz- 
zling, for it shone like the sun in his meridian clearness. At 
the same time his garment acquired a snowy whiteness, far be- 
yond any thing human art could produce; a whiteness bright 
as the light, and sweetly refulgent, but in a degree inferior to 
the radiance of his countenance. 

Thus, as it were, for an instant, the Son of God, during his 
state of humiliation, suffered the glory of his divinity to shine 
through the veil of human nature, with which it was covered; 
and to heighten the grandeur and solemnity of the scene, Moses, 
the great lawgiver of Israel, and Elijah, a zealous defender of 
the laws, appeared in the beauties of immortality, the robes in 
which the inhabitants of the heavenly Canaan are adorned. — 
The disciples, it seems, did not see the beginning of this trans- 
figuration; happening to fall asleep at the time of prayer, they 
lost that pleasure, together with a great part of the conversation 
which these two prophets held with the only begotten Son of 
God. 

They, however, understood that the subject was his meritori- 
ous sufferings and death, by which he was to redeem the world; 
a subject that had a few days before given great offence to the 
disciples, particularly to Peter. At beholding the illustrious 
sight, the disciples were greatly amazed; but the forwardness of 
Peter's disposition prompting him to say something, he uttered 
he knew not what: "Master," said he, "it is good for us to be 
here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one 
for Moses, and one for Elias." Mark, ix. 5. 

This disciple imagined that Jesus had now assumed his proper 
dignity; that Elias was come according to Malachi's prediction, 
and the Messiah's kingdom was at length begun. 

Accordingly, he thought it was necessary to provide some 
accommodation for his Master and his august assistants, intend- 
ing, perhaps, to bring the rest of the disciples, with the multi- 



186 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tude, from the plain below, to behold his matchless glory. This 
he thought was much better for his Master than to be put to 
death at Jerusalem, concerning which Jesus had been talking 
with the messengers from heaven, and the design of which Peter 
could not comprehend. 

But "while he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshad- 
owed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, 
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye 
him." Matt. xvii. 5. 

When the three disciples heard the voice which, like the 
roaring thunder burst from the cloud, and was such as mortals 
were unaccustomed to hear, they fell on their faces, and contin- 
ued in that posture till Jesus approached, raised them up, and 
dispelled their fears, saying unto them, "Arise, and be not afraid. 
And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no man, save 
Jesus only." Matt. xvii. 7, 8. 

Jesus having continued all night with his three disciples on 
the mountain, returned to the plain early in the morning, charg- 
ing them to conceal what they had seen till after he was risen 
from the dead. He well knew that the world, and ever his 
own disciples were not yet able to comprehend the design of 
his transfiguration: and that if it had been published before 
his resurrection, it might have appeared incredible: because 
nothing but afflictions and persecutions had hitherto attended 
him. "He was truly a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
grief." 

But the doctrine of the resurrection, to which the transfigura- 
tion alluded, was what the disciples were utterly unable to un- 
derstand. They had never learnt that the Messiah was to die; 
far less, that he was to be raised from the dead. They were, 
on the contrary, persuaded that he was to abide for ever; and 
that his kingdom was to have no end. They were also greatly 
surprised at the sudden departure of Elias, and could not com- 
prehend what the Scribes meant by affirming that he must appear 
before the Messiah erects his kingdom. They, therefore, after 
long debating among themselves, asked their Master, "Why 
say the Scribes, that Elias must first come?" To which Jesus an- 
swered, that Elias should truly come first, according to the pre- 
diction of Malachi, "and restore all things;" but at the same 
time he assured them, that Elias was already come, and described 
the treatment he had met with from that stiff-necked people; 
giving them to understand that he spake of John the Baptist. 
"But I say unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew 
him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed: like- 
wise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. Then the disci- 
ples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." 
Matt. xvii. 12, 13. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



187 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Our Saviour relieves a Youth tortured with a dumb Spirit* — Con- 
forms cheerfully to the custom of the country, by paying the 
tribute. — Reproves the pride of his Disciples, and delivers some 
excellent moral precepts. 

When our Lord approached the descent of the mountain, 
accompanied by his three disciples, he saw a great multitude 
surrounding the nine who continued in the plain, and the Scribes 
disputing with them. The people, seeing Jesus coming down 
from the mountain, ran to him and saluted him with particular 
reverence. After which Jesus asked the Scribes what was the 
subject of their debate with his disciples? To which one of the 
multitude answered, "Master, I have brought unto thee my son, 
which hath a dumb spirit: And wheresoever he taketh him he 
teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and 
pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast 
him out, and they could not." Mark, ix. 17, 18. 

This answer being made by one of the multitude, and not by 
the Scribes, to whom the question was directed, indicates that 
they had been disputing with the disciples on their not being 
able to cure this afflicted youth : perhaps their making this un- 
successful attempt had given the Scribes occasion to boast, that 
a devil was at length found which neither they nor their Master 
were able to conquer. This seems to be indicated by the man- 
ner in which our Saviour addressed himself to these arrogant 
rulers. 44 Oh, faithless generations," says he, 44 how long shall I 
be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Will no miracles 
ever be able to convince you? Must I always bear with your 
infidelity? You have surely seen sufficient demonstrations of my 
power, notwithstanding ye still discover the most criminal infi- 
delity. After speaking in this manner to the Scribes, he turned 
himself to the father of the young man, and said, 44 bring thy son 
hither." But no sooner was he brought in sight of his deliverer, 
than the evil spirit attacked him as it were, with redoubled fury, 
"the spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed 
foaming." Mark, ix. 20. 

Jesus could easily have prevented this attack: but he per- 
mitted it, that the minds of the spectators might be impressed 
with a more lively idea of this youth's distress. And for the 
same reason it was, that he asked the father how long he had 
been in this deplorable condition? To which the afflicted pa- 
rent answered, 44 Of a child And oft-times it hath cast him 
into the fire, and into the water to destroy him: but if thou 

22 



188 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." Mark, 
ix. 21, 22. 

The inability of our Lord's disciples to cast out this spirit 
had greatly discouraged the afflicted father: and the exquisite 
torture of his son, and the remembrance of its long continuance, 
so dispirited him, that he began to fear this possession was even 
too great for the power of Jesus himself, as the Scribes had 
before affirmed; and therefore could not help expressing his 
doubts and fears. But Jesus, to make him sensible of his mis- 
take, said to him, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible 
to him that believeth." On which the father cried out with 
tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." The vehe- 
ment manner in which he spake causing the crowd to gather 
from every quarter, "Jesus rebuked the foul spirit;" saying unto 
him, " Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, Come out of 
him, and enter no more into him." Mark, ix. 25. 

No sooner was the powerful exit pronounced, than the spirit, 
with an hideous howling, and convulsing the suffering patient in 
the most deplorable manner, came out, leaving the youth sense- 
less, and without motion: till Jesus, taking him by the hand, 
restored' him to life, and delivered him perfectly recovered to 
his father. 

The nine disciples, during this whole transaction, remained 
silent. They were doubtless mortified to think, that they had 
lost, by some fault of their own, the power of working miracles, 
lately conferred upon them by their Master: and for this reason 
were afraid to speak to him in the presence of the multitude. 
But when they came into the house, they desired Jesus to inform 
them, why they failed in their attempt to heal that remarkable 
youth? To which Jesus answered, "Because of your unbelief." 
But to encourage them, he described the efficacy of the faith of 
miracles. " If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye 
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, 
and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 
Matt, xvii. 20. Nothing shall be too great for you to accom- 
plish, when the glory of God, and the good of the church are 
concerned, provided you have a proper degree of faith; even 
yonder mountain, which bids defiance to the storm, and smiles at 
the attacks of its mingled horrors, shall, at your command, leave 
its firm basis, and remove to another place. 

The expulsion of the dumb spirit seems to have astonished 
the disciples more than any other miracle they had seen their 
Master perform; so that our Saviour found it necessary to mod- 
erate their high admiration of his works, by again predicting his 
own death, and retiring for a time into the unfrequented parts 
of Galilee. 

But they could not comprehend how the Messiah, who was 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



189 



to abide for ever, and was come to deliver others from the 
stroke of death, should himself fall by the hand of that uni- 
versal destroyer. And because he spake of rising again the 
third day, they could not conceive the reason of his dying at 
all, and for his lying so short a time in the chambers of the 
grave. 

Though they were alarmed at this declaration, they remem- 
bered that he had often inculcated this doctrine, and repriman- 
ded Peter for being unwilling to hear it. 

After a short tour through the desert part of Galilee, Jesus 
returned into Capernaum, the place of his general residence. — 
Soon after his arrival, the tax-gatherers came to Peter, and 
asked him, whether his Master would pay the tribute? That 
disciple, it seems, had promised that Jesus would satisfy their 
demand; but, on a more mature consideration, feared to ask 
him concerning his paying taxes on any pretence whatever. 

Jesus was, however, no stranger to what had happened, and 
the fear of Peter to ask him; and therefore turned the discourse 
to this subject, by saying unto him, What thinkest thou, Simon? 
Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? 
Of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, 
Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children 
free; insinuating, that as he was himself the Son of the great 
King, to whom heaven, earth, and sea belong, he had no right 
to pay tribute to any monarch whatever, because he held 
nothing by a derived right. 

Or, if we suppose this contribution was made for the service 
and reparation of the temple, he meant, that as he was himself 
the Son of that Omnipotent Being to whom the tribute was 
paid, he could have justly excused himself. But the blessed 
Jesus was always careful not to give offence; and therefore 
sent Peter to the lake with a line and a hook, telling him, that 
in the mouth of the first fish that came up, he should find a 
piece of money equal to the sum demanded of them both. — \ 
"Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the 
sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; 
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of 
money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee." Matt. 
xvii. 27. 

Our Lord took this extraordinary method of paying the trib- 
ute money in this manner, because the miracle was of such a 
kind as could not fail to demonstrate that he was the Son of the 
great Monarch worshipped in the temple, and who rules the 
universe. In the very manner, therefore, of paying this tribute, 
he showed Peter that he was free from all taxes; and at the 
same time gave this useful lesson to his followers, that when 
their property is affected only in a small degree, it is better to 



190 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



recede a little from their just right than to offend their breth- 
ren or disturb the state, by obstinately insisting on it. 

Notwithstanding our blessed Saviour had lately foretold his 
own sufferings and death, and though their melancholy accounts 
had greatly afflicted the minds of his disciples, yet their grief 
was of no long continuance: for within a few days they forgot 
the predictions of their Master, and disputed with each other 
about the chief posts of honor and profit in the Messiah's king- 
dom. This debate was overheard by the blessed Jesus, though 
he did . not mention it till after the tax-gatherers were retired, 
when he asked them, what they were disputing about on the 
way? This question rendered them all silent. They were 
fearful of discovering the cause that had given rise to the de- 
bate, as they knew it would draw on them a reprimand from 
their Master. Jesus, perceiving that they still continued silent, 
sat down, and ordered them all to stand around him. and attend 
to what he was going to deliver. If any man. said the Saviour 
of the world, is ambitious of being the greatest person in my 
kingdom, let him endeavor to obtain that dignity by preferring 
others in honor, and doing to them all the good offices in his 
power. "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of 
all, and servant of all."* Mark, ix. 35. 

The disciples were now convinced that it was in vain to con- 
ceal the subject of the debate that had happened on the way; 
and accordingly they drew near to their Master, desiring him to 
decide a point which had often given occasion to disputes: 
"Who," said they, "is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'* 
Matt, xviii. 1. Jesus, to check these foolish emulations in his 
disciples, called a little child unto him, and placed him in the 
midst, that they might consider him attentively, and said unto 
them, "Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and 
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven.** Matt, xviii. 3. Unless ye be humbled by the power 
of divine grace, and brought to a due sense of the vanity of all 
earthly preferments, riches, and honors, and become meek and 
humble in spirit, ye shall be so far from becoming the greatest 
in my kingdom, that ye shall never enter its borders. But who- 
soever shall be satisfied with the station in which God has placed 
him, receive with meekness all the divine instructions, however 
contrary to his own inclinations, and prefer others to himself, 
that man is really the greatest in my kingdom. "Whosoever 
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.*' Matt, xviii. 4. 

Our Saviour, to demonstrate how truly acceptable the beauty 
of the grace of humility is to the Almighty, took the child in his 
arms, declaring, that whoever humbled themselves, like a little 
child, and showed kindness to their fellow-creatures, should have 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 191 

the same kindness showed them in the great day of account, 
especially if they performed these worthy actions in obedience 
to his commands. 

It appears, from circumstances, that James and John, the sons 
of Zebedee, were principally concerned in this debate, for we 
find that John endeavored to divert it, by telling his Master, 
that they had seen one casting out devils in his name, and had 
forbidden him, because he did not join himself to their company; 
to which Jesus replied, that they should not have forbidden him, 
since he must have entertained very high notions of their Master's 
power, at seeing the devils leave the bodies of men, on mention- 
ing the name of Jesus. "Forbid him not: for there is no man 
which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil 
of me." Mark, ix. 39. 

You should, added the blessed Jesus, consider that every one 
who does not persecute us is a friend: and that the ejection of 
devils in my name will advance my doctrine, and promote my 
cause, even though the exorcist, and the devils themselves, 
should design the contrary. He also told his disciples, that the 
least degree of respect showed him by any one, even though it 
should be no more than the giving a cup of cold water to his 
thirsty disciples, was acceptable to him, and should not fail of 
meeting with an adequate reward. "For whosoever shall give 
you a cup of water to drink, in my name, because ye belong to 
Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." 
Mark, ix. 41. 

But, on the other hand, the least discouragement given to his 
disciples in the propagation of the gospel, come from what quarter 
it will, shall be punished with the greatest severity. "And who- 
soever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it 
is better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, 
and he were cast into the sea." Mark, ix. 42. 

From this saying, Jesus inferred, that it was more advanta- 
geous to deny ourselves the highest enjoyments of this world, 
and to part with every thing, however precious, represented by 
a hand, a foot, or an eye, than by these to cause the weakest of 
his friends to stumble. And as the disciples were appointed to 
sow the seeds of virtue and religion in the world, or, according 
to the metaphor, to salt the people for an offering to heaven, in 
allusion to sacrifices being salted at the temple, Jesus exhorted 
them to mortify themselves, that they might appear worthy of 
so high an office as that of salting mankind for the altar of 
heaven; for as they were to be the salt of the earth, it was 
requisite they should themselves be filled with the spiritual salt 
of all the graces, and particularly the holy salt of love and 
peace, that they might, as far as possible, be free from the 
rottenness of ambition, pride, contention, and every evil work. 



192 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Pride is the source of numberless sins: and therefore the 
blessed Jesus cautioned his disciples, in the most solemn man- 
ner, to beware of that vice: assuring them, that the meanest 
child is an object of the care of Providence; and "that their 
angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in 
heaven."' Our blessed Saviour did not mean by this expression, 
that every man who practices the duties of religion has a par- 
ticular guardian angel assigned him: but as all angels are sent 
as ministering spirits, they may be called his angels. 

To show the concern of his Almighty Father for the least of 
his reasonable creatures, and the great value he sets upon the 
souls of the human race, our Saviour told them, that he not 
only gave his highest angels charge concerning them, but had 
also sent his only-begotten Son to seek and to save that which 
was lost; and would share in the joy which the heavenly beings 
are filled with on their recovery. "How think ye? if a man 
have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth 
he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, 
and seeketh that which is gone astray ? And if so be that he 
find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep 
than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it 
is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of 
these little ones should perish." Matt, xviii. 12, 13, 14. 

Having thus addressed the offending party, he turned himself 
towards his disciples, and gave them instructions with regard 
to the offended. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go 
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall 
hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear 
thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of 
two or three witnesses, every word may be established. And if 
he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he 
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen 
man and a publican." Matt, xviii. 15. 16, 17. 

Try every measure to reclaim thy brother, and in order to 
this represent his fault to him privately. If this rebuke has the 
desired effect, thou hast brought him back to the paths which 
lead to happiness; but. if this gentle method fail, two or more 
grave persons should join in the rebuke, that he may be con- 
vinced of the injury he has done thee. If he still remains obsti- 
nate, tell his offence to the church, whose sentence will suffi- 
ciently show that thou hast done thy duty, and that he alone is 
to blame. But if he is so hardened as not to be affected by the 
censure of the church, he is from thenceforth to be treated as 
the Pharisees treat the heathens and publicans: namely, as an 
incorrigible sinner, whose company and conversation being con- 
tagious, ought to be shunned by all who have any love for 
virtue and religion. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



193 



Our Saviour now conferred the special power which he had 
confined to Peter, on all his disciples. "Verily, I say unto 
you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven: 
and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in 
heaven." Matt, xviii. 18. That is, ye have free power to 
preach the remission of sins through faith in the gospel and 
repentance unto life, and such decree will remain valid in the 
court of heaven, though passed here below. 

Bat, on the other hand, if the offending brother continues 
impenitent after all the methods above described are tried, his 
guilt is bound the faster upon him; because, by the precepts of 
the gospel, none but penitents can obtain pardon. 

Our blessed Saviour also added, as an encouragement to 
good men, that if they continued earnest in their endeavors to 
bring sinners to repentance, and offered up their prayers to the 
Almighty for assistance, he would always grant their petitions, 
provided they were agreeable to the wise ends of his providence. 
"Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth 
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for 
them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or 
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them." Matt, xviii. 19, 20. 

Peter had before heard his Master speak of the doctrine of 
frequent forgiveness, and imagined that what he had now so 
strongly inculcated might prove dangerous to society; and 
therefore thought it his duty to offer his objections. "Lord," 
said he, " how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive 
him? till seven times?" Matt, xviii. 21. He thought it a 
strange doctrine which obliged him to forgive offences seven 
times repeated; but our blessed Saviour told him that he was 
very greatly mistaken: that he never intended to limit forgive- 
ness to seven times, but that it ought to be extended even to 
seventy times seven. 

This excellent moral precept he enforced by the parable of 
the two servants, debtors to one lord; in order to show the neces- 
sity of forgiving the greatest injuries in every case where the 
offending party is sensible of his fault, and promises amendment; 
because on this condition alone, our heavenly Father will for- 
give our offences. "Therefore," said the blessed Jesus, "is 
the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king, which would 
take account of his servants." God is the great king and 
sovereign of all creatures, and all are accountable to him, as 
servants to a master. He will reckon with all: and happy 
are they who live sensible of this important truth. When he 
had begun to reckon, one servant was brought unto him who 
owed him an immense debt, "ten thousand talents," a debt 
much greater than he was able to pay. His lord, therefore* 



194 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



commanded him, agreeable to the custom of those times, to be 
sold for a slave, and "his wife and children, and all that he 
had, and payment to be made." 

The servant, convinced of the justice of the sentence, and 
knowing that he had nothing to hope for, but from the mercy 
and clemency of his lord, fell down in the most humble man- 
ner, and importunately besought him, saying, "Lord, have 
patience with me, and I will pay thee all." The master, 
moved with compassion towards him, accepted of his humili- 
ation: and to make his happiness complete, loosed him from 
the sentence inflicted, and freely forgave him the enormous 
debt: an obligation surely sufficient to have melted the hard- 
est heart into gratitude towards his lord, and the tenderest 
sympathy towards any of his brethren in distress. But alas! 
who is acquainted with the human heart? This very servant 
went out from the presence of his compassionate lord, and 
found one of his fellow-servants who owed him "an hundred 
pence :" a poor inconsiderable debt in comparison of what he 
himself owed his lord. 

But behold the base inhumanity of this servant: he laid 
hands on the poor debtor, seizing him violently by the throat, 
and saying, "Pay me that thou owest." His fellow-servant 
fell down at his feet, even just as he had before done at the 
feet of his lord, and besought him in the very same words he 
himself had so lately used, "Have patience with me, and I will 
pay thee all." Such a similarity of circumstances, one would 
have thought, must have affected his stony heart, brought to 
remembrance his own late distress, and melted his soul into the 
like generous compassion which had flowed so sweetly from his 
lord to him. But his conduct was the very reverse: he would 
have no patience, he would show no pity: he went and cast 
the unhappy debtor into prison till he should pay the debt. 

His fellow-servants, when they saw what was done, were 
exceedingly afflicted, and came and told their lord the whole 
transaction. Upon which he summoned the unmerciful servant 
to appear before him: and, filled with indignation and abhor- 
rence, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, how perverse is 
thy behavior, how ungrateful and base thy proceedings: "I 
forgave thee all the debt," that enormous debt thou owedst 
me, "because thou desiredst me:" I was moved to clemency 
and compassion by thy entreaties and distress, and "shouldest 
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even 
as I had pity on thee?" Shouldest not thou much rather have 
forgiven him, who was thy fellow-servant, and owed thee so 
small a sum, when I, thy king and lord, had forgiven thee so 
immense a debt? 

Having thus expostulated with him, his wrath was kindled, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



195 



and he "delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all 
that was due unto him. So likewise," added the Son of God, 
"shall my heavenly Father do also unto yon, if ye from your 
hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Matt. 
xviii. 34, 35. And surely this awful threatening ought to strike 
the minds of fierce and implacable men with terror. For what- 
ever they may think, it will certainly, in its full extent, be in- 
flicted upon all who refuse to obey the dictates of divine mercy, 
and forgive not only their fellow-servants, but every brother in 
Christ, who, through weakness or inadvertence, may have done 
them an injury either in person or property. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Our blessed Lord attends for the fourth time the celebration of the 
Passover at Jerusalem. — Harangues the multitude at the solemn 
Feast of Tabernacles. — Exempts the woman detected in adultery 
from the punishment annexed by the Jews to that crime. — Es- 
capes from the snares laid for him by the inveterate Scribes and 
Pharisees. 

The great Redeemer, having promoted his Father's work in 
Galilee, departed into Judea, passing through the country beyond 
Jordan, that the Jews who inhabited those distant parts might 
enjoy the unspeakable benefits of his discourses and miracles. — 
After sowing the seeds of eternal life, and publishing the glad 
tidings of salvation in those remote countries, he repaired to 
Jerusalem to celebrate the fourth passover; but the malignity 
of the Scribes and Pharisees was so great, that he stayed but a 
short time in the capital; and then returned into Galilee, where 
the multitude again resorted to him, and he again instructed 
them in the paths that lead to everlasting life. 

The feast of the tabernacles now drew on, at which all the 
males of the Jewish nation, capable of traveling, repaired to 
Jerusalem, and dwelt in the tabernacles or booths made of the 
boughs of trees, in commemoration of their fathers having had 
no other habitation, during their forty years sojourning in the 
wilderness. To this feast some of the kinsmen of the blessed 
Jesus desired he would accompany them, and there show him- 
self openly to the whole nation of the Jews. They did not 
themselves believe that he was the great prophet so long ex- 
pected; and therefore condemned the method he pursued in his 
public ministry as altogether absurd. 

They could not conceive what reasons he had for spending so 
23 



196 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



much of his time in the deserts, and remote corners of the king- 
dom, while he professed so public a character as that of the 
Redeemer of Israel. Jerusalem, the seat of power, was, in their 
opinion, much the properest place for him to deliver his doc- 
trines, and work his miracles in the most public manner possible, 
before the great and learned men of the nation, whose decision 
in his favor would have great weight in increasing the number 
of his disciples, and inducing the whole nation to own him for 
the Messiah. "Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy 
disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is 
no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh 
to be known openly: If thou do these things, show thyself to 
the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him." John, 
vii. 3, 4, 5. 

Our Lord well knew the rancorous prejudice of the inhabit- 
ants of Jerusalem, and therefore did not think proper to reside 
among them any longer than was absolutely necessary. They 
had more than once attempted his life, and therefore very little 
hopes remained that they would believe his miracles, or embrace 
his doctrine; but, on the contrary, the greatest reason to think 
they would destroy him, if possible, before he had finished the 
work for which he assumed the veil of human nature, and resi- 
ded among the sons of men. "My time," said the blessed Jesus 
to these unbelieving relations, "is not yet come; but your time 
is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, 
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye 
up unto this feast; I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is 
not yet full come." John, vii. 6, 7, 8. As if he had said, It is 
not proper for me to go before the feast begins; but you may 
retire to the capital whenever you please; the Jews are your 
friends, you have done nothing to displease them; but the purity 
of the doctrines I have preached to them, and the freedom with 
which I have reproved their hypocrisy, and other enormous 
crimes, have provoked their malice to the utmost height; and 
therefore as the time of my sufferings is not yet come, it is not 
prudent for me to go so soon to Jerusalem. 

There was also another reason why our blessed Saviour re- 
fused to accompany these relations to the feast of tabernacles; 
the roads were crowded with people, and these gathering round 
him, and accompanying him to Jerusalem, would doubtless have 
given fresh offence to his enemies, and have in a great mea- 
sure prevented his miracles and doctrines from having the desired 
effect. He therefore chose to continue in Galilee, till the crowd 
were all gone up to Jerusalem, when he followed, " as it were in 
secret," neither preaching nor working miracles by the way; 
so that no crowd attended him to the feast. 

As Jesus did not go up openly to Jerusalem, so neither did 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 197 

he, on his arrival, repair to the temple, and there preach openly 
to the people. This gave occasion to several disputes among 
the Jews with regard to his character. Some affirmed that he 
was a true prophet; and that his absenting himself from the 
feast could be owing only to accident: while others as confidently 
asserted, that he only deceived the people, and paid no regard 
to the institutions they had received from heaven. 

But about the middle of the feast, Jesus appeared openly in 
the temple, and taught the people, delivering his doctrines with 
such strength of reason and elegance of expression that his very 
enemies were astonished, knowing that he had never enjoyed 
the advantage of a learned education. "Now about the midst 
of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And 
the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, hav- 
ing never learned?" John, vii. 14, 15. 

To which the great Redeemer of mankind replied, my doc- 
trine was not produced by human wisdom; the sages of the 
world were not my instructors; I received it from heaven. It 
is the doctrine of the Almighty, whose messenger I am. "My 
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." John, vii. 16. 

Nor can he who is desirous of practicing the doctrines I de- 
liver, if he will lay aside his prejudices, and sincerely desire to 
be taught of God, be at a loss to know from whom my doctrines 
are derived: because he will easily discern whether they are 
conformable to the will of man, or of God. It is no difficulty 
to discover an impostor, because all his precepts will tend to ad- 
vance his own interest, and gratify his pride. Whereas all the 
doctrines delivered by a true prophet have no other end than 
the glory of God, however contrary they may prove to himself. 
"He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory; but he 
that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no 
unrighteousness is in him." John, vii. 18. 

Our Lord was upbraided with impiety by some of the Jews, 
because he had healed on the sabbath the impotent man in one 
of the porches of Bethesda, which they pretended was a viola- 
tion of the law of Moses, and consequently what no prophet 
would be guilty of. In answer to which, our blessed Saviour 
told them, that however they might pretend to reverence the 
authority of Moses and his law, they made no scruple of viola- 
ting the most sacred of his precepts: they had resolved to put 
him to death, directly contrary to every law of God and man; 
and, in order to execute their detestable scheme, were laying 
plots against his life. 

The people replied, " Thou hast a devil, who goeth about to 
kill thee?" To which Jesus answered, I have done a miracle 
of an extraordinary kind on the sabbath-day, which you think 
inconsistent with the character of a pious man, and therefore 



198 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



wonder how I could perform it. But surely, Moses gave you 
the law of circumcision, and you make no scruple of performing 
that ceremony on the sabbath-day, because it is a precept both 
of Moses and the fathers. Since, therefore, ye think yourselves 
bound to dispense with the strict observance of the sabbath, in 
order to perform a ceremonial precept; can you be angry with 
me, because, in order to fulfill the great end of all the divine 
law, I have cured a man who was infirm in ail his members, 
and even with far less bodily labor than you perform the cere- 
mony of circumcision? Consider, therefore, the nature of the 
thing; divest yourselves of your prejudices, and the superstitious 
opinions taught by your elders, and judge impartially. "Moses 
therefore gave unto you circumcision, (not because it is of 
Moses, but of the fathers,) and ye on the sabbath-day circumcise 
a man. If a man on the sabbath-day receive circumcision, 
that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at 
me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sab- 
bath-day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge 
righteous judgment." John, vii. 22, 23, 24. 

Notwithstanding the strength of this argument, several of 
our blessed Saviour's inveterate enemies asked, with sarcastical 
surprise, if the boldness of Jesus, and the silence of the rulers, 
proceeded from their being convinced that he was the Messiah, 
and at the same time, to deride his pretensions to that high 
character, said, that they were acquainted both with his parents 
and relations: but that no man, when Christ appeared, would 
be able to tell from whence he came; founding their opinion 
on these words of the prophet Isaiah, "Who shall declare his 
generation?" Isaiah, liii. 8. To which the blessed Jesus an- 
swered, that their knowing his parents and relations was no 
reason against his having the prophetical character of the Mes- 
siah. Adding, I am not come of myself, but sent from heaven 
by God, who has uttered nothing by his servants the prophets 
concerning the Messiah, but what is true, and will all be ful- 
filled in me: but ye are totally ignorant of his gracious perfec- 
tions, and gracious counsels, and have no inclination to obey 
his just commands. You are really ignorant of what the pro- 
phets have delivered concerning the Messiah; for had you under- 
stood their predictions, you would have known that one of his 
principal characters is to understand the perfections and will of 
God more full}', and explain them to the sons of men more 
clearly than any other messenger ever before sent from the Most 
High. And would you attentively consider the doctrines I de- 
liver, you would soon perceive this character remarkably fulfilled 
in me, and be convinced that I came from the Almighty God of 
Jacob. 

This observation, however powerful, and his reasons, however 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



199 



solid, were far from disarming his enemies of their malice; for 
some of them were desirous of apprehending him; but Provi- 
dence would not suffer any to lay hands on him, because the 
time of his sufferings was not yet come. Many of the people, 
however, convinced by the powerful miracles he had lately 
wrought, and the unanswerable reasons he had advanced in 
support of his character, believed on him, and affirmed pub- 
licly in the temple, that he was the Messiah. "And many of 
the people believed on him and said, When Christ cometh, will 
he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?" 
John, vii. 31. 

The Scribes and Pharisees were highly provoked at this at- 
tachment of the common people to Jesus; and accordingly on 
the last and great day of the feast they met in council, and sent 
several officers to apprehend him, and bring him before them. 
Jesus, during these transactions in the council, continued in the 
temple teaching the people. My ministry, said he to the multi- 
tude, is drawing near its period; and therefore you should, during 
the short time it has to last, be very careful to improve every 
opportunity of hearing the word: you should listen with the 
greatest attention to every discourse, that your minds may be 
stored with the truths of the Almighty, before I return to my 
Father; for after my departure you shall earnestly wish for the 
same opportunities of seeing me, and hearing my instructions, 
but shall never obtain them. " Yet a little while am I with 
you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, 
and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come." 
John, vii. 33, 34. 

The Jews, who did not understand that our blessed Saviour 
alluded to his own death, resurrection and ascension to the right 
hand of the Majesty on high, whither their sins would not per- 
mit them to follow him, wondered at this doctrine, and imagined 
that he intended to leave Judea, and preach to their brethren 
dispersed among the Gentiles. But this supposition was not suf- 
ficient; because if he did go and preach among the Gentiles, 
they thought it was not impossible for them to follow him thither. 
" Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go 
that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among 
the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying 
is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: 
and where I am thither ye cannot come?" John, vii. 35, 36. 

While the divine teacher was thus instructing the people in 
the temple, the water from Siloam was brought in, according to 
the appointment of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, part of 
which they drank with loud acclamations, in commemoration of 
the mercy showed to their fathers, who were relieved by a 
stream which miraculously flowed from a rock, and relieved a 



200 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



whole nation, then ready to perish with thirst in a dreary and 
sandy waste; and the other part they poured out as a drink- 
offering to the Almighty, accompanying it with their prayers, for 
the former or latter rain to fall in its season; the whole congre- 
gation singing the following passage, "With joy shall ye draw 
water out of the wells of salvation." Isaiah, xii. 3. 

It was the custom of the blessed Jesus to deliver moral instruc- 
tions, in allusion to any occurrences that happened; and accord- 
ingly he took this opportunity of inviting in the most affectionate 
manner, all who were desirous of knowledge or happiness, to 
come to him and drink, alluding to the ceremony they were then 
performing. And to encourage all such as were desirous of be- 
lieving in him, he promised them the gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
which he represented under the similitude of a river flowing out 
of their belly. " In the last day, that great day of the feast, 
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture 
hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John, 
vii. 37, 38. 

During this discourse to the people, the officers from the coun- 
cil came to apprehend him; but hearing that the topic he was 
discussing was a very singular one, and he seemed to deliver his 
discourse with remarkable fervor, their curiosity induced them 
to listen some time to his discourse before they laid hands on 
him. But the eloquent manner in which he delivered his sub- 
ject, appeased their rage; the sweetness of his pronunciation, 
and the plainness and perspicuity of his discourse, elucidated 
the beauties of truth, and caused them to shine before the under- 
standing, with their native lustre. Accordingly, his very enemies 
who were come from the council on purpose to apprehend him, 
were astonished; the greatness of the subject, made as it were 
visible by the divine speaker, filled their understandings; the 
warmth and tenderness with which he delivered himself penetra- 
ted their hearts; they felt new and uncommon emotions, and 
being overwhelmed with the greatness of their admiration, were 
fixed in silence and astonishment: they condemned themselves 
for having undertaken the office, and soon returned to the rulers 
of Israel without performing it. 

If our Lord had pleaded for his life before the officers of the 
council who were sent to apprehend him, the success of his elo- 
quence, even in that case, had been truly wonderful; but in 
the case before us, it was surely superior to all praise; for in 
a discourse addressed to others, and even on a spiritual subject, it 
disarmed a band of inveterate enemies, and made them his friends. 

Nor were the officers the only persons affected by this dis- 
course, for many of them declared that he must be one of the 
old prophets; and others, that he was no other than the Messiah 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



201 



himself. Some, however, led away with the common mistake, 
that he was born at Nazareth, asked with disdain, if the Messiah 
was to come out of Galilee? And whether they would acknowl- 
edge a Galilean for the Messiah, when the Scripture had abso- 
lutely declared that he was to be born in Bethlehem, the native 
town of his father David? "Many of the people, therefore, 
when they heard this saying, said, 44 Of a truth this is the pro- 
phet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall 
Christ corns out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, That 
Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of 
Bethlehem, where David was?" John, vii. 40, 41, 42. 

Such were the dissentions on this subject, that some of his 
enemies, knowing that the officers were sent to apprehend him, 
threatened to lay hands on him; but the Almighty would not 
suffer them to execute their wicked design. 4 ' And some of 
them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him." 
John, vii. 44. 

The officers now returned to the council, and were asked, why 
they had not brought Jesus of Nazareth? whom the officers an- 
swered, 44 Never man spake like this man." This reply enraged 
the council, who reviled them for presuming to entertain a favor- 
able opinion of one whom they had pronounced an impostor. 
It is strange, said they, that you, who are not ignorant of our 
sentiments concerning this person, should entertain a favorable 
idea of him. Have any persons of rank, or celebrated for their 
knowledge of the laws, believed on him? Are not his followers 
the lower order of the people, who are totally ignorant of all 
the prophecies concerning the Messiah? 

These officers made no answer to these railing accusations of 
their masters; but Nicodemus, a member of the council, ar- 
raigned their conduct in a very poignant manner, 44 Does our 
law," says he, "condemn any man before he has been heard?" 
They had before condemned their officers for being ignorant of 
the law, when it appeared they were themselves far more ignorant 
in pretending to condemn a person before they had proved him 
guilty. They were acting directly contrary to the fundamental 
principles of the law of equity, at the time they boasted of their 
profound knowledge of its precepts. 

Incensed at this reprimand of Nicodemus, they asked him, 
with an air of disdain and surprise, if he was also one of those 
mean persons who had joined together to support the pretences 
of a Galilean; though the Scriptures had plainly said, that Bethle- 
hem was the place of the Messiah's nativity: adding, that if 
he refused to listen to them, he should soon be* convinced that the 
great prophet mentioned by Moses was not to be born in Galilee. 
"Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look; for out of Galilee 
ariseth no prophet." John vii. 52. 



202 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Having made this reply to Nicodemus, the council broke up, 
and Jesus who well knew their malicious intentions, retired to 
the Mount of Olives, where he spent the night with his disciples. 

Our blessed Lord early the following morning, returned to the 
temple, and again taught the people. The Scribes and Phari- 
sees now determined to render him odious to the multitude, or 
obnoxious to the Roman governor; and therefore placed before 
him a woman that had been taken in the act of adultery, desi- 
ring his opinion what punishment she ought to suffer. "This 
woman," said they to Jesus, "was taken in adultery, in the very 
act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be 
stoned; but what sayest thou?" John, viii. 4, 5. 

Had our Lord disapproved the sentence of the law, they would 
doubtless have represented him to the multitude as a person who 
contradicted Moses, and favored adultery ; which could not have 
failed of rendering him odious to the people. On the other 
hand, had he ordered her to be stoned, it would have afforded 
a plausible pretence for accusing him to the Roman governor 
as a person who stirred up the people to rebellion, the Romans 
having now taken the power of life and death into their own 
hands. 

But Jesus, who well knew their malicious intentions made 
them no answer, but "stooped down and with his finger wrote 
on the ground, as though he heard them not." John, viii. 6. 

They, however, still continued pressing him to give an answer, 
and at last, Jesus in allusion to the law which ordered that the 
hands of the witnesses, by whose testimony an adulterer was con- 
victed, should be first upon him, said, "He that is without sin 
among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Let those who are 
remarkably zealous for having justice executed upon others, at 
least take care to purify themselves from all heinous crimes. 

This reply had its desired effect. The hypocritical Scribes 
and Pharisees were convicted of sin by their own consciences: so 
that they immediately retired, fearing Jesus would have made 
their particular sins public. "And they which heard it, being 
convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, begin- 
ning at the eldest, even unto the last." John, viii. 9. 

The woman's accusers being all retired, Jesus told her, that as 
no man had pronounced sentence of death upon her, neither 
would he pronounce it: but advised her to be very careful for 
the future, to avoid the temptations which had induced her to 
commit so black a crime. 

The wisdom, knowledge, and power of our blessed Saviour 
were eminently displayed on this occasion: his wisdom in defend- 
ing himself against the malicious attempts of his enemies; his 
knowledge in discovering the secrets of their hearts; and his 
power in making use of their own consciences to render their 



THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY. 

[Page 252.] 




"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto. them, He that 
is without sin among ycu, Let him first cast a stone at her." — John viii. 7. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



205 



artful intentions abortive. It was, therefore, with remarkable 
propriety, that the great Redeemer of mankind now called 
himself the "light of the world:" as if he had said, I am the 
spiritual sun, that dispels the darkness of ignorance and super- 
stition, in which the minds of men are immersed, and enlightens 
the paths that lead to eternal life; nor shall any who follow me, 
ever be involved in darkness. "I am the light of the world: he 
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the 
light of life." John, viii. 12. 

This assertion of our Lord highly provoked the Pharisees, 
who told him he must be a deceiver, because he boasted of him- 
self. To which the great Redeemer of mankind replied, You 
are not to imagine that I called myself the light of the world 
from a principle of pride and falsehood: that title justly belongs 
to me: nor would you yourselves refuse to acknowledge it, did 
you know from what authority I received my commission, and 
to whom, when I have executed it, I must return. But of these 
things ye are totally ignorant, and therefore judge according to 
outward appearance, and condemn me because I do not destroy 
those who oppose me, as you vainly think the Messiah will do 
those who shall refuse to submit to his authority. But the 
design of the Messiah's coming is very different from your 
mistaken notions; he is not to destroy but to save the children 
of men. "Though I bare record of myself, yet my record is 
true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye can- 
not tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the 
flesh, I judge no man.'" John, viii. 14, 15. He added, that if 
he should condemn any person for unbelief, the condemnation 
would be just, because his mission was true, being confirmed by 
his own testimony, and that of his Almighty Father, the God 
of Jacob, by whose authority, and agreeable to whose will, 
all his sentences would be passed. "And yet if I judge, my 
judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that 
sent me." John, viii. 16. 

Having thus asserted the divinity of his mission, and shown 
that his judgment was just, he proceeded to inform them that 
the Father himself bare witness to the truth of his mission. 
You cannot, said he, justly complain, even if I should punish 
you for your unbelief, because you are, by your own laws, com- 
manded to believe the testimony of two witnesses, that my 
mission evidently is true. For the actions of my life, which are 
perfectly agreeable to the character of a messenger from heaven, 
bear sufficient witness of me; and the Father, by the miracles 
he has enabled me to perform, beareth witness of me; ye are 
therefore altogether culpable in objecting to my mission. # "It is 
also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 



206 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent 
me beareth witness of me." John, viii. 17, 18. 

The Jews then asked him, Where is the Father, the other 
witness to whom thou appealest? Jesus replied, Your conduct 
sufficiently demonstrates that ye are strangers both to me and 
my Father; for had ye known who I am, ye must have also 
known whom it is I call my Father; had ye been convinced that 
I am the Messiah, you must also have been convinced that the 
Father is no other than that Omnipotent Being, who created 
and upholds all things by the word of his power. "Then 
said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, 
Ye neither know me nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye 
Bhould have known my Father also." John, viii. 19. 

This discourse, the Evangelist tells us, was held "in the trea- 
sury, or court of the women, where the chests were placed for 
receiving the offerings of all who came up to worship in the 
temple; and must therefore have been a place of great resort, 
being frequented by all, even the priests and rulers. But not- 
withstanding the public manner in which our blessed Saviour 
now asserted his claim to the character of the Messiah, no man 
attempted to seize him; Providence not suffering them to put 
their malicious designs in execution, because his "hour," or 
time of his sufferings, "was not yet come." 

The debate being ended, Jesus again repeated what he had 
before told them: namely, that he should shortly depart from 
them; and that they should then seek him, but not be able to 
find him. "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die 
in your sins: whither I go ye cannot come." John, viii. 21. As 
if he had said, After my ascension into heaven, when the Roman 
armies shall spread horror and desolation in every corner of the 
land, ye shall then earnestly wish for the coming of the Mes- 
siah, in expectation of being delivered by his powerful arm from 
your cruel enemy, but ye shall then find your mistake; ye 
shall die in your sins, and be for ever excluded from the man- 
sions of happiness. 

The Jews by no means comprehended this departure of 
which our Lord told them. They even fancied he would 
destroy himself, because they thought the only retreat where 
they could not find him, was the gloomy habitation of the grave. 
To which the blessed Jesus replied, Your vile insinuation dis- 
covers at once the wickedness of your hearts and the baseness 
of your original. Ye are from the earth, and therefore sub- 
ject to all the evil passions that infect human nature; and from 
the dictates of your own hearts, you fancy that I can be capable 
of committing the horrid crime of self-murder. But my extrac- 
tion is very different; it is from heaven, and consequently my 
mind is not tainted with the corruption • of human nature, the 



LIFE OF CHRIST, 



207 



source of temptation to every sin. You, therefore, must believe 
that I am the 44 bread of life," the heavenly manna, the light of 
the world, the true Messiah, if you are desirous of being cleansed 
from those pollutions which flow from your earthly origin; but if 
ye still continue in your unbelief, 44 you shall die in your sins." 

The Jews now, in order to vindicate themselves, demanded 
what sort of person he pretended to be? To which Jesus an- 
swered, 44 Even the same that I said unto you from the begin- 
ning," that is, at the beginning of this discourse, 44 the light of 
the world." Adding, I have many things to say, and to judge 
of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world 
those things which I have heard of him." John, viii. 26. 

This discourse, however plain it may appear, was not under- 
stood by the perverse Jews; they did not perceive 44 that he spoke 
to them of the Father." But Jesus told them, that when they 
had crucified him, they would be convinced, by the miracles 
accompanying that awful hour, the resurrection from the dead, 
the effusion of the Holy Spirit on his disciples, and the destruc- 
tion of the Jewish nation, who he was, and the Father that 
sent him. 44 When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then 
shall ye know that I am he, and that 1 do nothing of myself; but 
as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." John, 
viii. 28. 

He added that though he should be crucified as a malefactor, 
that punishment would not be inflicted on him, as a consequence 
of his being deserted by his Father; because he would never 
leave him in any period of his misery, or even at the hour of 
death, as he had always acted agreeable to his will. 

These words induced many of the people to believe him to 
be the Messiah. Perhaps by 44 lifting him up," they did not un- 
derstand his crucifixion, but his ascension to the throne of David; 
and hence supposed, that he now entertained sentiments worthy 
of the Messiah, and were therefore very ready to acknowledge 
him as such, and believe the doctrine he had delivered concer- 
ning his mission. But Jesus told them, that if they persevered 
in the belief and practice of his word, they should, in reality, 
become his disciples, have a title to that honorable appellation, 
be fully instructed in every doctrine, of the gospel, and not only 
freed from the slavery of sin and its consequences, but also 
from the ceremonial laws delivered by Moses. 44 If ye con- 
tinue in my word, then are ye disciples indeed: and ye shall 
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John, 
viii. 31, 32. 

The Jews on hearing him mention that they should be made 
free, answered, 44 We be Abraham's seed, and were never in 
bondage to any man." This assertion, if taken literally, waa 
absolutely false; the whole nation, at that very time, being in 



208 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



bondage to the Romans; nor were their ancestors any strangers 
to slavery, having severely felt the hand of tyranny, both in 
Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. The expression, therefore, must 
be taken in a metaphorical sense, to signify spiritual bondage: 
it was a freedom by truth, a freedom in respect of religion, which 
they now asserted. They meant that they were the descendants 
of illustrious ancestors; and, during the worst of times, had pre- 
served sentiments in religion and government worthy of the 
posterity of Abraham; nor had the hottest persecution of the 
Assyrian kings been able to compel them to embrace the reli- 
gion of the heathens. In respect of truth, "we were never 
in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made 
free?" 

In answer to this question, Jesus told them, that those who 
gave themselves up to a vicious course of life, and to the grati- 
fication of their sinful appetites, were absolute slaves, and how 
far they might deserve that appellation, it was incumbent on 
them to consider. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever 
committeth sin is the servant of sin." And as a slave cannot be 
assured of the continuance of his masters favor, or certain of 
abiding continually in the family; so my Father can, when he 
pleases, discard such habitual sinners, deprive you of the ex- 
ternal economy of religion, in which you so highly boast, as 
you have, through sin, rendered yourselves bondsmen to his jus- 
tice. If ye are desirous of becoming the children of God, 
and of remaining forever in his family, you must submit to the 
authority of his Son, and embrace his doctrine, which will in- 
duce him to adopt you as co-heirs with himself. It is he only 
that can make you free indeed, and place you in the city of 
the heavenly Jerusalem, without the least danger of being re- 
moved. I well know that ye are, in a natural sense, the seed 
of Abraham, but in a moral one, the offspring of Satan; for 
many of you are desirous of destroying me, because I enjoin 
a greater degree of sanctity than you are willing to acquire. 
" I know that ye are Abraham's seed ; but ye seek to kill me, 
because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I 
have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen 
with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham 
is our father." John, viii. 37, 38, 39. 

Notwithstanding their claim to immediate descent from that 
father of the faithful, Jesus told them that if they were the spir- 
itual progeny of Abraham, they would resemble that great and 
good man in his righteousness; and therefore, instead of en- 
deavoring to take away the life of a person who came with a 
revelation from God, they would believe on him, in imitation 
of Abraham, who was justly styled the father of the faithful, 
and the friend of God. 44 If ye were Abraham's children, ye 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



209 



would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, 
a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of 
God : this did not Abraham." John, viii. 39, 40. 

Jesus added, that their deeds sufficiently showed whose chil- 
dren they were, and from what stock they were descended; even 
from the great deceiver of mankind, who " goeth about like a 
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 

The Jews at length discovered the purport of our Lord's 
meaning, and accordingly replied, that they were undoubtedly 
in that sense the children of God, as they were certainly not 
born of fornication, alluding to the marriage-covenant, which 
in Scripture is metaphorically said to subsist between God and 
the people of Israel, and by which their obligation to love, 
honor, and obey him, was represented in a very lively manner. 
We are neither, said the Jews, idolaters ourselves, nor sprung 
from idolatrous parents; consequently we are, with respect to 
a spiritual descent, the children of God. "We be not born of 
fornication: we have one father, even God." John, viii. 41. 

But Jesus told them, that an outward profession of the true 
religion was of no consequence. They must "love it in deed 
and in truth," if they hoped to be, in reality, the children of 
God: and if they 5 truly loved religion, they must love him 
who came down from heaven on purpose to reveal it to the 
sons of men. Adding, that he did not come of himself, but 
was sent by the great Creator of the universe. "If God were 
your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded forth, and 
came from God: neither came I of myself, but he sent me." 
John, viii. 42. 

But ye, continued the blessed Jesus, inherit the nature of 
your father the devil; and therefore will continue to gratify 
the lusts ye have derived from him. He was an enemy and a 
murderer of mankind from the beginning, and has ever since 
exerted his whole power to work their destruction: sometimes 
by seducing into sin by his falsities, and sometimes by instigating 
them to kill those whom God thought proper to send to reclaim 
them. And having early departed from holiness and truth, a 
custom of lying is become habitual to him. Being therefore a 
liar and the father of lying, when he speaketh a falsity, he 
speaketh what is properly his own. But I tell you the truth; 
and therefore it is natural to think that ye will disbelieve me. 
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father 
ye will do; he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode 
not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When 
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and 
the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe 
me not." John, viii. 44, 45. 

Though ye dare even to reject my doctrine, are any of you 



210 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



able to show that I have not received my commission from 
heaven, or that I have done any thing that has a tendency to 
render me unworthy of belief? Can you show that I have 
taught false doctrines, reproved you unjustly for your actions, or 
been guilty myself of sin? If you are unable to do this, but, 
on the contrary, must acknowledge that my doctrine and life 
are such as become a messenger of God, what reason can ye 
pretend for not believing me? "And if," in affirming that I am 
perfectly free from sin, "I say the truth, why do ye not believe 
me?" Whoever is of God, receives, with the greatest humility, 
whatever revelations God is pleased to make of himself by his 
messengers, and makes it his study and delight to obey all his 
commandments. But ye reject the revelations and precepts of 
the Almighty, delivered by me, who came down from heaven, 
for no other reason than because ye are not the children of 
God. "He that is of God, heareth God's words; ye therefore 
hear them not, because ye are not of God." John, viii. 47. 

The Jews, still attached to their lineal descent, replied, that 
his calling the descendants of Abraham the children of the devil, 
was a sufficient proof that he was a very profligate wretch him- 
self, or instigated by some evil spirit. But Jesus told them he 
was neither mad nor actuated by an evil spirit. On the con- 
trary, he honored his Father, by speaking the words of truth, 
which he had sent him to deliv er; and, therefore, they dishonored 
him in calling him by so opprobrious a title. Adding, that he 
sought not their applause, but referred their conduct to an om- 
niscient and impartial Judge. "And I seek not my own glory: 
there is one that seeketh and judgeth." John, viii. 50. 

Our Lord, having declared his mighty and divine power, as- 
serts the happy effects of faith and obedience to the gospel. — 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he 
6hall never see death." John, viii. 51. On this declaration, the 
Jews (who were total strangers to our Lord's spiritual meaning 
of death) cried out, now we sufficiently know that thou art pos- 
sessed with a devil; for the most righteous persons that ever 
flourished among the sons of men are dead: Abraham, and the 
prophets, and other holy men, are all laid in the chambers of the 
dust, and yet thou hast the impudence and folly to affirm, that 
whoever keeps thy precepts shall never die. Thou surely canst 
not think, nor pretend to be more in favor with the Almighty 
than Abraham and the prophets were, who, though the strictest 
observers of the divine precepts, could not obtain the privilege 
of being themselves exempt from the stroke of death, much 
less for their followers. "Now we know that thou hast a 
devil; Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou say est, 
If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



211 



thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead; and 
the prophets are dead; whom makest thou thyself?" John. viii. 
52, 53. 

In reply to this impertinent query, the Messiah returned, If 
I should attempt to speak in praise of myself, you would call it 
vain and foolish, and, like the Pharisees, tell me, " Thou near- 
est record of thyself: thy record is not true." Instead, therefore, 
of giving you a full description of my dignity, I shall only in- 
form you, that it is my Father who speaketh honorably of me, 
by the many miracles he enables me to perform. And surely 
this may be sufficient to convince you of what I have promised 
for my disciples; especially when I tell you that my Father is 
no other than the Almighty God of Jacob, whom all the de- 
scendants of Abraham pretend to worship. But though you 
vainly boast of worshipping my Father as your God, you are 
ignorant of him: you neither form just conceptions of him, nor 
worship him in the manner you ought. Your knowledge and 
actions, therefore, disagree with your profession; but, on the 
contrary, I entertain proper ideas of him, and obey his precepts. 
You may, perhaps, construe this declaration as proceeding from 
vanity; but if I should say, I do not form adequate conceptions 
of him, or acknowledge him as he deserves, I should be a liar 
like unto you. Even your father Abraham, of whom you so 
highly boast, earnestly desired to behold the time when I, the 
promised seed, should put on the veil of human nature, and con- 
vert the nations of the world from their idolatry to .the knowl- 
edge and worship of the true God. He earnestly desired to 
see the great transactions of my life, by which this invaluable 
blessing was to be procured for all the sons of men; and view 
the happy state of all nations, when this blessing was bestowed 
upon them. This was granted him; he "saw it and was glad." 
He was favored with the ravishing prospect of these happy 
times, then concealed in the womb of futurity, and was ex- 
ceedingly transported with the scene. 44 Your father Abraham 
rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." John, 
viii. 56. 

The Jews, still blind to the spiritual meaning of our Lord's 
words, concluded he had affirmed that he was before Abraham; 
and knowing he was not yet forty years old, considered it as 
absolutely ridiculous. They had no conception of his divine 
nature, though he had so often told them he was the Son of God, 
and consequently existed with the Father, long before this world 
was called from its primitive chaos. This gross stupidity and 
perverseness induced the Saviour of the world to assert his dig- 
nity in still plainer terms: 44 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Be- 
fore Abraham was, I am." John, viii. 58. 

The Jews, incensed at our Lord's prior claim to Abraham, in 



212 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



point of existence, rushed on him, and attempted to stone him; 
but Jesus, by rendering himself invisible, passed unhurt through 
the crowd, and retired out of the temple. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Our Lord continues to work Miracles in confirmation of his Mission 
and Doctrine. — Calls forth and sends out seventy Disciples* — 
Preaches to the people of Judea, by way of Parable. 

The great Preacher of Israel, having defeated the cruel de- 
signs of the obstinate Jews, in passing on his way, saw a man 
who had been blind from his birth. The sight of so affecting 
an object could not fail to excite the compassion of the benevo- 
lent Saviour of mankind. Nor could the affronts and indigni- 
ties he had just received from the Jews hinder him from "work- 
ing the works of him that sent him," and dispensing blessings 
on that rebellious and ungrateful nation. Accordingly, he be- 
held, this poor blind man, not with a transient view, but fixed on 
him the eyes of his divine compassion, and presented him with 
the riches of his adorable love. 

The disciples, observing the affectionate regard of their Mas- 
ter to this object of compassion, and probably imagining that 
he was going to extend his usual mercy to this unfortunate 
object, asked their Master, whether his blindness was occa- 
sioned by his own sin, or the sin of his parents? They had 
often heard their Master say, that afflictions were commonly 
the punishment of particular sins; and had learned, from the 
law of Moses, that sin was the fruitful source of evil; and that 
the Lord punished the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. 
Their Master kindly answered, that neither his own nor the sins 
of the parents were the immediate cause of this peculiar punish- 
ment; but that he was born blind, "that the works of God 
should be made manifest in him;" particularly his sovereignty 
in bringing him blind into the world, his power in conferring 
the faculty of sight upon him, and his goodness in bearing wit- 
ness to the doctrine by which men are to be saved. 

We may learn, by this pertinent reply of the Saviour of the 
world, that a curious inquiry into the afflictions of other men 
may be safely avoided; and that we ought to suppose every 
calamity subservient to the glory of Omnipotence; never impu- 
ting to their personal sins whatever miseries we behold in others, 
lest, like the disciples in the present case, we assign to sin, what 
owes its origin to the glory of our Maker. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



213 



Having assigned the cause of this person's blindness, namely, 
"that the works of God should be made manifest in him," 
Jesus added, "I must work the works of him that sent me, 
while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work;" 
John, ix. 4. ; intimating to his disciples, and all the sons of men, 
his unwearied labor in the work of his Almighty Father. In 
this he was employed day and night, during the time of his 
sojourning in the flesh. To this alone he directed all his 
thoughts and all his intentions. This he esteemed even as his 
meat and drink; and for this he suffered the neglect of his ordi- 
nary food, that he might finish the blessed, the beneficent work 
of human salvation. A work, to accomplish which he left the 
courts of heaven; and, during the execution of it, went about 
doing good. 

It was now the sabbath-day, and the blessed Jesus was going 
to perform a miracle, in which there was to be a small degree 
of servile work; and therefore he told his disciples, that they 
need not be surprised to see him work miracles of that kind on 
the sabbath-day. For though they should imagine that he 
might defer them till the day of rest was over, his time on earth 
was so short, that it was necessary for him to embrace every 
opportunity that offered of working miracles. Perhaps he chose 
to perform this work on the sabbath, because he knew the Phar- 
isees would, for that reason, inquire into it with the utmost atten- 
tion, and consequently render it more generally known. 

But however this be, our blessed Saviour, who was now going 
to confer sight on one that was born blind, took occasion from 
thence to speak for himself as one appointed to give light also to 
the minds of men involved in darkness. "As long as I am in 
the world, I am the light of the world." John, ix. 5. 

Having declared the salutary design of his coming into the 
world, "he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, 
and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and 
said unto him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is, by 
interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, 
and came seeing." John, ix. 6, 7. 

This miraculous operation could not fail of producing a gen- 
eral curiosity and surprise, and induced those who had seen this 
blind man in his dark and deplorable condition, to be vefy 
particular in their inquiries into the means of so singular a mira- 
cle. It was doubtless the subject of general conversation; and 
it is natural to think should also have proved the means of a 
general conversion: but, as too frequently happens, a perverse 
curiosity prevented its salutary effects upon their souls. Unbe- 
lief and hardness of heart led some of them even to doubt of the 
plainest fact: a fact the most evident and indisputable, and 
plainly the work of the divinity, and others to persecute at 

25 



214 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



once both the object and the author of it! " The neighbors, there- 
fore, and they which before had seen him, that he was blind, 
said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he; 
others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he?" John* ix. 8, 9. 

The man transported with gratitude and joy, and perceiving 
his neighbors to doubt of the identity of his person, proclaim- 
ed himself to be the very same whom they lately saw begging 
in total darkness. I am he thus wonderfully blest with sight, 
by the peculiar mercy of the Almighty! I am he who was blind 
from my birth, whom ye have all seen, and many relieved in my 
miserable distress! 1 am he who was, even from my mothers 
womb, involved in total darkness, but now enjoy the enlivening 
light of day! 

So genuine an acknowledgment of the fact excited their 
curiosity to know how this admirable effect was produced. 
"How were thine eyes opened?" To this question he readily 
replied, " A man that is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed 
mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and 
wash; and I went and washed, and I received sight." John, 
ix. 11. 

Then they asked him where the person was, who had per- 
formed so stupendous a work? to which the man answered, 
"I know not:" for Jesus had retired while the man went to 
wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam, probably to avoid the 
applauses which would naturally have been given him, and 
which we see through the whole gospel he generally studied to 
avoid. 

The neighbors, either stimulated by envy, or excited by a 
desire of having the truth of this extraordinary event searched 
to the bottom, brought the man before the council as the proper 
judges of this affair. Accordingly he was no sooner placed 
before the assembly, than the Pharisees began to question him, 
"how he had recovered his sight." Not daunted by this awful 
assembly, though terrible to a man of his mean circumstances, 
he boldly answered, " He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, 
and do see." John, ix. 15. 

On hearing this account of the miracle, the Pharisees de- 
clared that the author of it must be an impostor, because he 
had, by performing it, violated the sabbath-day. But others, 
more candid in their way of thinking, gave it as their opinion, 
that no deceiver could possibly work a miracle of that kind, 
because it was too great and beneficial for any evil being to 
have either the inclination or power to perform. 

The court being thus divided in their opinions with regard to 
the character of Jesus, they asked the man himself what he 
thought of the person who had conferred on him the blessing of 
sight? To which he boldly and plainly answered, "He is a 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



215 



prophet." But the Jews wanting to prove the whole a cheat, 
started another objection, namely, that this person was not born 
blind, though all his neighbors had really testified the truth of 
it. Accordingly, they called his parents, and asked them, 
Whether he was their son: if he had been born blind; and by 
what means he had obtained his sight? To which they an- 
swered, that he was truly their son, and had been born blind; 
but with regard to the manner in which he received his sight, 
and the person who had conferred it on him, they could give no 
information: their son was of age, and he should answer for him- 
self. " These words spake his parents, because they feared the 
Jews; for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did 
confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the syna- 
gogue." John, ix. 22. 

This proves that the convictions of conscience act power- 
fully on the mind: the parents of this blind man well knew by 
what means their son had received his sight; and like him they 
should have glorified the divine hand that had wrought so mar- 
vellous a work; and dared to have confessed him before all men, 
whatever dangers might have threatened them. Let us learn 
from hence, to fear our own, and to pity human frailty, and to 
implore the assistance of the Holy Spirit to give us courage and 
resolution in the day of trial: and let us take care not to love 
the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

The Pharisees, finding that all attempts either to discredit or 
disprove the fact, were useless, had recourse to their usual 
method of calumniating the author of it. They called again 
"the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the 
praise: we know that this man is a sinner." John, ix. 24. To 
which the man boldly answered these rulers of Israel, " Whether 
he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas 
I was blind, now I see." John, ix. 25. 

This reply prevailed not with the obstinate Jews; they were 
desirous of confounding him with repeated questions, and the 
art of sophistry, and accordingly asked him, "What did he to 
thee? How opened he thine eyes?" They had before asked 
these questions, but now proposed them a second time, in order 
that the man, by repeating his account of the servile work per- 
formed at the cure, might become sensible that Jesus had thereby 
violated the sabbath, and consequently must be an impostor. — 
Thus the enemies of our dear Redeemer would gladly have 
prevailed on the person who had received the valuable gift of 
sight, to join with them in the judgment they had passed on the 
great person who had wrought so stupendous a miracle. But 
their obstinacy in denying the truth appeared so criminal to him, 
that he boldly answered, "I have told you already, and ye did 



216 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his 
disciples?'* John, ix. 27. 

The council were highly exasperated at this retort. " They 
reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple ; but we are Moses' 
disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this 
fellow, we know not from whence he is." John, ix. 28, 29. 

The poor man, incensed at their unbelief and hardness of 
heart, replied, It is very strange that you should not acknowl- 
edge the divine mission of a teacher who performs such aston- 
ishing miracles; for common sense sufficiently declares, that 
God never assists impostors in working miracles; and accord- 
ingly there cannot be found a single example since the creation 
of the world, of any such person's opening the eyes of one 
born blind, My opinion, therefore, is, that if this man had 
not been sent by God, he could not work any miracle at all. 
" The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is a 
marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet 
he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth 
not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth 
his will, him he heareth. Since the world began, was it not 
heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born 
blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing." 
John, ix. 30, &c. 

The Pharisees were not ignorant that this argument was con- 
clusive; they felt its whole force, and well knew that it could 
not be resisted. Accordingly they did not attempt to answer it, 
but had recourse to punishment and abusive language. Thou 
wicked, illiterate, impudent mortal, said they, whose understand- 
ing, is still as blind as thy body lately was, and who wast born 
under the heaviest punishment of sin, dost thou pretend to in- 
struct in a matter of this kind, the guides of the people, and 
those who have rendered themselves eminent for their knowl- 
edge in the law? "Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost 
thou teach us?" John, ix. 34. 

After their presumptuous taunts, the Evangelist adds, that 
"they cast him out;" that is, they passed on him the sentence 
of excommunication, which was the highest punishment they 
had power to inflict. But though he was cut off from the Jew- 
ish society, he was nevertheless thereby united to one, where no 
unjust sentences can ever be passed, nor any member be ever 
separated during a joyful eternity. 

The presumption of the Pharisees, should teach us to contem- 
plate the various arts, and subtle endeavors of all the adversa- 
ries and enemies of the gospel and cross of Christ; and not be 
surprised to find them, though in different shapes, employed 
against ourselves, if we zealously embrace the truth of Christ, 
as well as against all who are not afraid to confess, before all 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



217 



men, the glory of him who hath opened their eyes. It is im- 
possible that the world should love those who boldly declare 
that its works are evil. Let us not therefore be shaken when 
we come to experience it, but learn from this blind man, freeh- 
and openly to confess the faith, and to declare the power of that 
God, who hath brought us from darkness into his marvellous 
light, and turned our feet into the way of peace. 

The feast of dedication now drew near. This solemnity was 
not appointed by Moses, but by that heroic reformer. Judas 
Maccabeus, in commemoration of his having cleansed the tem- 
ple, and restored its worship, after both had been polluted by 
Antiochus Epiphanes. 

Although this feast was merely of human institution, Jesus 
determined to be present at it, even though he knew that far- 
ther attempts would be made against his life. His public min- 
istry was indeed now drawing near its period: and therefore the 
blessed Jesus would not omit any opportunity of preaching to 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and of doing good to the 
children of men. Nor did he now, as he had formerly done, 
travel privately to the capital, but openly declared his intention 
of going to Jerusalem, and set forward on his journey with great 
courage and resolution. 

The road from Galilee to Jerusalem lay through Samaria, 
and the inhabitants were those which entertained the most in- 
veterate hatred against all who worshipped in Jerusalem. — 
Jesus being no stranger to this disposition of the Samaritans, 
thought proper to send messengers before him, that they might, 
against his arrival, find reception for him in one of the villages. 
The prejudiced Samaritans, finding the intention of his journey 
was to worship in the temple at Jerusalem, refused to receive 
either him or his disciples into their houses. 

The messengers being thus disappointed, returned to Jesus, 
and gave him an account of all that had passed; at which James 
and John were so exceedingly incensed, that they proposed to 
their Master to call for fire from heaven in order to destroy such 
inhospitable wretches; alleging, in excuse for such violent pro- 
ceedings, the example of the prophet Elijah. "Lord, wilt thou 
that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume 
them, even as Elias did?'' Luke., ix. 54. 

Our Lord, desirous of displaying an example of humility on 
every occasion, sharply rebuked them for entertaining so unbe- 
coming a resentment for this offence. "Ye know not," said he, 
"what manner of spirit ye are of." Ye are ignorant of the sin- 
fulness of the disposition ye have now expressed: nor do ye con- 
sider the difference of times, persons, and dispensations. The 
severity exercised by Elijah on the men who came from Ahab 
to apprehend him, was a just reproof to an idolatrous king and 



218 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



people; very proper for the times, and very agreeable to the 
characters, both of the prophet who gave it, and of the offenders 
to whom it was given; and, at the same time, not unsuitable to 
the Mosaic dispensation. But the gospel breatheth a very dif- 
ferent spirit; and the intention of the Messiah's coming into the 
world, was not to destroy, but to save the lives of the children 
of men. 

Ye wise of this world, who reject saving knowledge, behold 
here an instance of patience, under a real and unprovoked in- 
jury, which you cannot parallel among all your boasted heroes 
of antiquity! An instance of patience which expressed infinite 
sweetness of disposition, and should be imitated by all the 
human race, especially by those who call themselves the disci- 
ples of Christ. 

Being denied reception by the inhospitable inhabitants of this 
Samaritan village, Jesus, attended by his disciples, directed his 
way towards another; and as they traveled, a certain man said 
to him, "Lord, I will follow thee, whithersoever thou goest." — 
But Jesus, to whom the secret purposes of all hearts were open, 
knowing he only desired the riches and honors of the Messiah's 
kingdom, thought proper to make him sensible of his mistake; 
and accordingly said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of 
the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay 
his head." Luke, ix. 58. I am so far from boasting of a tem- 
poral kingdom, and the power and pomp attending it, that I have 
not even the accommodations provided by nature for the beasts 
of the field and the fowls of the air. They have safe and se- 
cure retreats; but the Son of Man is destitute of an habitation. 

Jesus, in the course of his wandering, met with one who had 
formerly been his disciple, and ordered him to disengage him- 
self from all worldly employments, and to follow him; but he 
was desirous of excusing himself for the present, under the pre- 
tence, that he was bound by the ties of gratitude to continue 
with his aged father, till death had put a peried to his existence, 
and he had laid his remains in the sepulchre of his ancestors: 
"Lord," said he, "suffer me first to go and bury my father." — 
To which Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their dead; but 
go thou and preach the kingdom of God." Luke, ix. 60. Let 
those that are immersed in worldly affairs, follow the affairs of 
the world; but those who have embraced the doctrines of the 
gospel do every thing in their power to spread the glad tidings 
of salvation in every part of the earth. 

A third person offered to follow him, provided he would give 
him the liberty to return to his house, and take leave of his 
family: but Jesus told him, that he should not suffer any domes- 
tic affairs to interfere with the care of his salvation; that the 
calls of religion were too pressing to admit of the least delay 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



219 



or excuse whatever; and that all who set themselves to seek the 
welfare of their souls, should pursue the work assiduously, with- 
out looking carelessly around them, as if they were regardless 
of the work they had undertaken to perform. " No man hav- 
ing put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the 
kingdom of God." Luke, ix. 62. 

As our blessed Saviour's ministry was from this time, till its 
final period, to be confined to Judea, and the countries beyond 
Jordan, it was necessary that some harbingers should be sent 
into every town and village he was to visit, to prepare his way. 
Accordingly he called his seventy disciples unto him, and after 
instructing them in the duties of their mission, and the particu- 
lars they were to observe in their journey, he sent them into 
different parts of the country, to those particular places whither 
he himself intended to follow them, and preach the doctrines of 
the gospel to the inhabitants. 

Our Lord according to his own declaration, dispatched these 
disciples on the same important message, as he had done the 
twelve before. 

The harvest was plenteous in Judea and Perea, as well as in 
Galilee, and the laborers also few; and being never more to 
preach in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the cities 
wherein he had usually resided, he reflected on the reception 
he himself had met with from the inhabitants of those cities. — 
He foresaw the terrible consequences that would flow from their 
rejecting his doctrine, and the many kind offers he had made 
them. He was grieved for their obstinacy; and in the over- 
flowing tenderness of his soul, he lamented the hardness of their 
hearts. "Wo," said he, "unto thee, Chorazin; wo unto thee, 
Bethsaida: for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and 
Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while 
ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be 
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for 
you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall 
be thrust down to hell." Luke, x. 13, 14, 15. To which our 
Saviour added, as some consolation to his disciples, " He that 
heareth you, heareth me : and he that despiseth you, despiseth 
me: and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." — 
Luke, x. 16. 

Such a token of heavenly regard could not fail of comforting 
the seventy, and alleviating their minds when thinking of the 
ill usage they expected to meet with during the course of their 
mission. They well knew, that the preaching of Christ him- 
self had been often despised, and often unsuccessful, with respect 
to many of his hearers; and therefore they had not very great 
reason to expect that they should find a more welcome reception 
than their Master. 



220 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The seventy disciples, having received their instructions, and 
the power of working miracles from the Messiah, departed to 
execute their important commission in the cities and villages of 
Judea and Perea. And after visiting the several places, pub- 
lishing the glad tidings of salvation, and working many mira- 
cles in confirmation of their mission, they returned to their Mas- 
ter with great joy, saying; "Lord, even the devils are subject 
unto us, through thy name!" 

From this appeal it seems that they knew not the extent of 
their delegated power: and were pleasingly surprised to find 
the apostate spirits tremble at their command. To which their 
great Master replied, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from 
heaven." You will be no longer astonished that the devils are 
subject to the power I have given you, when I tell you that 
their prince is not able to stand before me; and, accordingly, 
when I first put on the veil of human nature, to destroy him 
and his works, I saw him, with the swiftness of the lightning's 
flash, fall from heaven. Adding, in order to increase their joy, 
and prove that he had really cast Satan down from the seats 
of heaven, that he would enlarge their power. "Behold," says 
he, "I give unto, you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, 
and over all the power of the enemy : and nothing shall by 
any means hurt you." Luke, x. 19. 

Lest they should exult beyond measure in the honor thus 
conferred on them, which was merely temporary, our Lord adds, 
"Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are sub- 
ject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are 
written in heaven." Luke, x. 20. 

Nor could the blessed Jesus reflect on the unsearchable wis- 
dom and goodness of the divine dispensations to mankind, 
without feeling extraordinary joy; so that his beneficent heart 
overflowed with strains of gratitude; "I thank thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from 
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even 
so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Luke, x. 21. 

When the disciples had executed their commissions, Jesus 
left Samaria, and retired into Judea, and in the way was met 
by a certain lawyer, or Scribe, who being desirous of knowing 
whether the doctrines preached by Jesus were the same with 
those before delivered by Moses, asked him, What he should 
do to inherit eternal life? It is really amazing that any mortal 
should ask a question like this, with a view to tempt, not to be 
instructed! This was, however, the case; but the blessed Jesus, 
though no stranger to the most secret thoughts of the heart, did 
not reply, as he had before done to the Pharisee, "Why temp- 
test thou me, thou hypocrite?" He turned the Scribe's weap- 
on's against himself; What, said he, is written in the law. of 



THE DISCIPLES SENT FORTH. 

[Page 220.] 




" After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and 
two before his face, into every city and place whither he himself would come."— -Luke x. 1. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



223 



which thou professest thyself a teacher; "How readest thou?" 
That law will teach thee what thou must do to be saved; and 
happy will it be for thee, if thou compliest with its precepts. — 
The Scribe answerd, it is there written, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as 
thyself." Luke, x. 27. 

Our Lord then shows the strength and spirituality of the law, 
"Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." — 
Perform these commands, and thou hast fulfilled the duties of 
an Israelite: for on these two commandments hang all the law 
and the prophets. 

Where is the man that can fulfill the law? The lawyer, who 
in all probability expected no such answer, being conscious of 
his defects, and, consequently, of the impossibility of obtaining 
eternal life on these conditions, was willing as the sacred histo- 
rian informs us, "to justify himself;" was willing to stifle the 
rising suggestions of his own conscience, and, at the same time, 
to make a show of his own devotion; and in order to this, he 
said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" A question very 
natural to be asked by a bigoted Jew, whose narrow notions led 
him to despise all who were not of his own fold; all who were 
not the natural descendants of his father Abraham. 

To remove their obstinate attachment to their own principles, 
open their hearts to a more generous and noble way of think- 
ing, and show them the only foundation of true love, and the 
extensive relation they and all mankind stand in to each other, 
our Saviour delivered the following most beautiful and instruc- 
tive parable. 

.A certain person, in his journey from Jerusalem to Jericho, 
had the misfortune to fall into the hands of robbers, who, not 
content with taking his money, stripped him of his raiment, 
beat him in a deplorable manner, and left him for dead. While 
he continued in this miserable condition, utterly incapable of 
assisting himself, a certain priest happened to travel the same 
road; "and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." 
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and 
looked on him, and passed by on the other side. So little 
compassion had these ministers of religion for a brother in the 
most deplorable circumstances of distress, that they continued 
their journey without offering to assist so miserable an object, 
notwithstanding their sacred characters obliged them to perform, 
on every occasion, the tender offices of charity and compassion. 
It was a brother, a descendant of Abraham in distress; and 
therefore those hypocrites could offer no reasons to palliate their 
inhumanity. Their stony hearts could behold the affecting ob- 
ject of an unfortunate Israelite, lying in the road, naked and 

26 



224 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



cruelly wounded, without being the least affected with his dis- 
tress. 

Though these teachers of religion were hypocrites, and wholly 
destitute of grace and charity, compassion glowed in the heart 
of a Samaritan, who, coming to the spot where this helpless 
object lay, ran to him; and though he found him to be a person 
of a different nation, and one who professed a religion opposite 
to his own, yet the hatred which had been instilled into his 
mind from his earliest years, and every objection arising from 
the animosity subsisting between the Jews and Samaritans, were 
immediately silenced by the tender sensation of pity, awakened 
by the sight of such complicated distress; his bowels yearned 
towards the miserable object; though a Jew, he flew to him and 
assisted him in the most tender manner. 

It was the custom in these eastern countries for travelers to 
carry their provisions with them; so that this compassionate 
Samaritan was enabled, though in the desert, to give the woun- 
ded man a little wine to recruit his spirits. He also bound up 
his wounds, pouring into them wine and oil, placed him on his 
own beast, and walked himself on foot to support him. In 
this manner he conducted him to an inn, took care of him du- 
ring the night; and in the morning, when business called him 
to pursue his journey, recommended him to the care of the host, 
left what money he could spare, and desired that nothing might 
be denied him; for whatever was expended he would repay at 
his return. 

Having finished the parable, Jesus turned himself to the law- 
yer, and asked him, "Which now of those three, thinkest thou, 
was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?" The 
lawyer, struck with the truth and evidence of the case, replied, 
without the least hesitation, "He that showed mercy on him." 
Upon which Jesus replied, " Go, and do thou likewise." Per- 
form all the good actions in thy power, extend thy kindness to 
every one who stands in need of thy .assistance, whether he be 
an Israelite, an Heathen, or a Samaritan. Consider every man 
as thy neighbor in respect to works of charity, and make no 
inquiry with regard to his country or religion, but only with 
regard to his circumstances. 

On examination of the particulars of this beautiful parable, 
we shall find that it is composed in the finest manner to work 
the conviction designed; so that the lawyer, however desirous 
of considering those of the Jewish religion only as his neigh- 
bors, it was impossible for him to do it on this occasion. The 
Jews had long considered the favors of a Samaritan as a more 
detestable abomination than the eating swine's flesh; yet, not- 
withstanding this prepossession, the lawyer was obliged to ac- 
knowledge that neither the priest, nor the Levite, but the tra- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



225 



veling Samaritan, by discharging the great office of humanity to 
the Jew in distress, was truly his neighbor; that the like humanity 
was due from an Israelite to a Samaritan in the like distressed 
circumstances: and, consequently, that men are neighbors, with- 
out any regard to country, kindred, language, or religion. 

Mankind are intimately connected by their common wants, 
and their common weaknesses. Providence has formed them in 
such a manner that they cannot subsist without the assistance of 
each other; and, consequently, the relation subsisting between 
them is as extensive as their natures, and their obligations to 
assist each other by mutual good offices, as strong as the neces- 
sities of every individual. Our blessed Saviour has, therefore, 
by this admirable parable, shown that the heart is the seat of 
genuine grace, and that good principles will ever produce good 
actions. 



CHAPTER XX. 

The humble Jesus resides with Martha and Mary, two obscure women 
of Bethany, — Improves a circumstance which occurred at the Feast 
of Dedication, — Prescribes a mode of Prayer to his Disciples and 
future. followers, — Revisits some of the pharisaical tribe. 

The feast of dedication approaching, Jesus turned his course 
towards Jerusalem, and in the evening came to the house of 
Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, at Bethany. Martha 
was desirous of expressing her regard for the divine guest, by 
providing for him and his disciples the best entertainment in her 
power. But her sister, who was of a more contemplative dispo- 
sition, sat quietly at the feet of Jesus, listening with the utmost 
attention to his doctrine. For the great Redeemer of man- 
kind never omitted any opportunity of declaring the gracious 
offers of the Almighty, and his unspeakable love for the children 
of men. Martha, being greatly fatigued with the burden of the 
service, complained to Jesus of the little care Mary took to assist 
her; "Lord dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to 
serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me." Luke, x. 40. 

But Martha's officiousness incurred our Lord's reproof, who 
commended Mary for her attentive application to his doctrine. 
"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many 
things: but one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that 
good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke, x. 
41, 42. 

When Jesus repaired to Jerusalem, to celebrate the feast of 



226 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



dedication, he was informed, that the beggar he had restored to 
sight, was, by the council, cast out of the synagogue. This in- 
formation excited the pity of the Son of God: and he resolved 
to make him full amends for the injury he had suffered. It was 
not long before he met the suffering person, and said to him, 
"Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, 
Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him? And Jesus said 
unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh 
with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped 
him." John, ix. 35, 36, 37, 38. 

"We have hinted, that the beggar was thoroughly convinced 
the person who opened his eyes was a messenger from heaven ; 
it is, therefore, no wonder that as he knew Jesus was the person 
who had performed so great a work, he readily believed him to 
be the Son of God. 

Our Saviour having thus given the poor man ample proof of 
his Messiahship, directed his discourse to the people, and said 
unto them, "For judgment I am come into this world: that they 
which see not, might see; and that they which see, might be 
made blind." John, ix. 39. The meaning of our Saviour, 
though he alluded to the blind man, was spiritual. He did not 
intend to represent the design of his coming, but the effect it 
would have on the minds of men; as it would demonstrate what 
character and disposition every person possessed. The humble, 
the docile, and the honest, though they were immersed in the 
night of darkness, with regard to religion, and the knowledge of 
the Scriptures, should be enlightened by his coming, as the 
blind man had enjoyed the invaluable gift of sight from his 
hands: but those who were wise, learned, and enlightened in 
their own opinion, should appear in their true character, abso- 
lutely ignorant, foolish, and blind. 

The Pharisees, who happened to be present when he spake 
these words to the people, imagined that he intended to throw a 
reflection on their sect, which the common people, from their 
skill in the law, held in great veneration. Accordingly, they 
asked him, with disdain, "Are we blind also?" Dost thou place 
us, who are teachers, and have taken such pains to acquire the 
knowledge of the Scripture, on a level with the vulgar? To 
which Jesus answered, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; 
but now ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remaineth." If ye 
had not enjoyed the faculties and opportunities of discerning the 
proofs of my mission, you might have been considered as blind; 
but as ye are superior to the vulgar, in point of learning; and at 
the same time your hearts averse from acknowledging the 
truth, your enlightened understanding will only aggravate your 
guilt. 

Having condemned the obstinacy and pride of the sect, in 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



227 



rejecting the most evident tokens of the divinity of his mission, 
he continued the reproof, by describing the characters of a true 
and false teacher. It was our Lord's custom always to allude 
to objects before him; and being now in the outer court of the 
temple, near the sheep, which were there exposed to sale, 
for sacrifice, he compared the teachers among the Jews to 
shepherds, and the people to sheep ; a metaphor often used by 
the old prophets. He considered two kinds of bad shepherds 
or teachers; the one, who, instead of entering by the door 
to lead the flocks to the richest pastures, entered some other 
way, with an intention only to kill, to steal, and to destroy; 
the other, who, though they entered by the door to feed their 
flocks, with the dispositions of hirelings, yet when the wolf ap- 
peared, they deserted the sheep, having no love for any but 
themselves. By the former, he plainly alluded to the Pharisees, 
who had cast the man born blind out of the synagogue; for no 
other reason, than because he would not act contrary to the 
dictates of his conscience, and agree with them in declaring 
Jesus to be an impostor. But though they had cast him out of 
the church, Christ received him into his, which is the true 
church, the spiritual enclosure, where the sheep go in and out, 
and find pasture. 

To illustrate the allusion, it should be observed, that the 
sheep which were brought to be sold, were inclosed in little 
folds, within the outer court of the temple; so that the shep- 
herd himself could not enter, till the porter had opened the 
door. And from this circumstance, the following parabolical 
discourse may be easily understood. "Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, 
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief, and a 
robber." John, x. 1. Believe me, that whosoever, in any age 
of the church, assumed the office of a teacher, without a com- 
mission from me, was a thief and a robber; and in the present 
age he is no better who assumes that office without my com- 
mission, and particularly without believing on me. "But he 
that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. 
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; 
and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them 
out; and when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before 
them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." 
John, x. 2, 3, 4. 

The doctrine here inculcated is, that good men are obedient 
to the instructions of true and faithful teachers ; and, in every 
case, show them their duty with the greatest plainness, not con- 
cealing it, because it may be disagreeable to their inclinations. 
On the contrary, " A stranger will they not follow, but will flee 
from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." John, x. 5. 



228 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The people of God will not hearken to impostors and false teach- 
ers, but flee from them, like sheep from the voice of a stranger: 
for they can easily distinguish them from the messengers of God, 
by their fruits, their doctrines, and their lives. 

Thus did the great Redeemer of mankind, by this instructive 
parabolical discourse, explain to the Pharisees the difference be- 
tween true and false teachers; but they being ignorant of his 
meaning he added, by way of explication, "Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, I am the door of the sheep." I am not only the door 
by which the shepherd must enter, but I am also the door of the 
sheep: it is by me that men enter into the spiritual enclosure 
of the church. " All that ever came before me;" all those who 
have presumed to assume the characters of teachers of religion,, 
without commission from me, " are thieves and robbers; but the 
sheep did not hear them." John, x. 8. 

" I am the door," through which alone any one can come ac- 
ceptably unto God; "By me, if any man enter in, he shall be 
saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." If any man 
believeth on me, he shall become a true member of the church of 
God upon earth; and shall from time to time, receive such in- 
structions as shall nourish his soul unto eternal life. Our blessed 
Saviour seems to change the image in the last particular; and 
instead of the outer court of the temple, where the sheep were 
kept, represented an enclosure where cattle were fed. 

" The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to 
destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might 
have it more abundantly." John, x. 10. You may easily know 
that I am neither a thief nor a robber, by considering that the 
intention of such is only to steal, to kill, and to destroy the flock. 
They assume the characters of teachers, who have received 
their commissions from heaven, for no other reason than to pro- 
mote their own interest, at the expense of the souls of men: but 
I am come merely to give you life, and even much more abun- 
dantly than it was given by Moses, in the dispensation of the law. 

Nor am I an hireling shepherd, appointed by the owner to take 
care of the flock; I am the good shepherd, promised by the pro- 
phets; the true proprietor of the sheep. This is sufficiently 
evident from my laying down my life for the safety of the flock. 
Whereas an hireling, who purposes nothing but his own advan- 
tage, when he sees the wolf approaching, deserts the sheep; his 
whole care is for his own safety, and therefore he will not expose 
himself to. any danger on their account; so that the wolf, with- 
out resistance, tears some to pieces, and disperses the rest. "I 
am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the 
sheep. But he that is an hireling and not the shepherd, whose 
own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the 
sheep and fleeth : and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



229 



sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth 
not for the sheep." John, x. 11 — 13. 

And as I am the good shepherd, and so earnest in tending 
them, so I know every particular sheep, am able to claim it, in 
whose possession soever it be, and know every thing relating to 
the sheep. I know the circumstances wherein they are placed, 
am well acquainted with their wants, and can judge what assist- 
ance they stand in need of. Besides, I love them all with the 
greatest sincerity, and approve of their obedience to me, because, 
though it be imperfect, it is sincere. For they have just notions 
of my dignity and character; they know that I am their shepherd 
and Saviour, sent from God; and that I am able to feed them 
with knowledge, deliver them from the punishment of sin, and 
bestow on them eternal life, and procure them a place in the 
blissful mansions of my Father's kingdom. " I am the good shep- 
herd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." John, x. 14. 

And this mutual knowledge and love of each other, is like 
that subsisting between me and my Father. "As the Father 
knoweth me, even so know I the leather: and I lay down my life 
for the sheep." John, x. 15. 

I will give a convincing proof of the love I bear the sheep ; I 
will lay down my life for them: an instance of regard that will 
never be given by any hireling. 

But I have other sheep, besides these of the seed of Abraham; 
numbers of my flock are among the Gentiles. These also I 
must bring into my church, and they must cheerfully submit to 
my laws. There shall be then but one visible church: they shall 
know me, shall distinguish my voice from that of a stranger, and 
though consisting of Jews and Gentiles, yet they shall have but 
one shepherd to feed and govern them: for the middle wall of 
the partition shall be broken down. " And other sheep I have 
which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they 
shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shep- 
herd." John, x. 16. 

And because I lay down my life to save the world, therefore 
my heavenly Father loveth me. But though I lay down my life, 
I will take it again; for I will in due time rise from the dead. 
I do not, however, either lay down my life, or rise from the dead, 
without the appointment of the Almighty. I act in both ac- 
cording to the divine wisdom, and agreeable to the will of my 
heavenly Father. " Therefore doth my Father love me, because 
I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh 
it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it 
down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment 
have I received of my Father." John, x. 17, 18. 

Various were the effects produced by this discourse upon the 
minds of the Jews. Some of them cried out that he was mad, 



230 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and possessed with a devil, and that it was the highest folly to 
hear him; while others, who judged more impartially of him 
and his doctrine, declared, that his discourses were not those of 
a lunatic, nor his miracles the works of a devil; asking those 
who were enemies to Jesus, if they imagined any devil was able 
to confer the faculty of sight on one that was born blind? — 
u There was a division therefore again, among the Jews, for 
these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is 
mad ; why hear ye him ? Others said, These are not the words 
of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the 
blind?" John, x. 19—21. 

Soon after, as Jesus was standing in Solomon's porch, the 
Jews came to him, desiring that he would tell them plainly, 
whether he was the expected Messiah, or not? But Jesus, 
knowing that they did not ask this question for information, but 
to gain an opportunity of accusing him to the Romans, as a 
seditious person, who endeavored to deceive the people, by pre- 
tending to be the great Son of David, promised by the prophets, 
in order to usurp the kingdom, told them, that they must form a 
judgment of him from his actions. "I told you, and ye believed 
not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness 
of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as 
I said unto you." John, x. 25, 26. Your unbelief is the effect 
of your attachment to this world, being unwilling to receive the 
doctrine of the kingdom of heaven: because you must then re- 
nounce all your fond hopes of temporal power and advantages. 
But, on the contrary, those who are of a meek and humble dis- 
position, and their minds free from worldly passions, easily per- 
* ceive the truth of my doctrine and miracles, and consequently 
are readily disposed to become my disciples. Nor shall such 
persons lose their reward; for I will willingly receive them, and 
make them partakers of eternal life in my Father's kingdom. 
And however assiduous malicious men may be, in endeavoring 
to hinder men from believing on me, they shall never be able to 
effect their purpose, though assisted by all the powers of dark- 
ness. For my heavenly Father, who hath given them to me, is 
far greater than them all: nor is any able to contend with him. 
" My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow 
me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never 
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Fa- 
ther, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able 
to pluck them out of my Father's hand." John, x. 27, &c. 

The Jews were so incensed at this declaration, which they 
considered as blasphemous, that they took up stones to cast at 
him, in conformity to the law, which commands all blasphemers 
to be stoned. But Jesus asked them, which of the beneficent 
miracles he had wrought, in confirmation of his mission, deserved 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



231 



such treatment. " Many good works have I showed you from 
my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?" John, x« 
32. As if he had said, I have fed the hungry in the desert, I 
have healed the lame, I have cleansed the lepers, I have cured 
the sick, I have given sight to the blind, and have cast out 
devils, and I have raised the dead; for which of these works are 
ye going to stone me? Do these miracles indicate that the au- 
thor of them is an impostor? Or can you he so stupid to think 
that the Almighty would suffer any person to perform such 
works, with no other intention than to deceive the human race? 
The Jews answered, We are far from thinking that thou deser- 
vest punishment for any good work thou hast done in favor of 
the afflicted and distressed : the punishment is intended to chas- 
tise thee for thy blasphemous speeches; for thou, though a weak 
mortal, a being of a day, like ourselves, arrogantly assumed the 
power and majesty of the Most High, and, by claiming the in- 
communicable attributes of the Deity, makest thyself God. — 
"For a good work we stone thee not: but for blasphemy, 
and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." 
John, x. 33. 

Jesus replied, has not the Scripture expressly called those 
"gods," and the "sons of God," who were commissioned to 
govern God's people, on account of their high office, and the 
inspiration of the spirit, which was, though sparingly, bestowed 
upon them? Can you, therefore, impute to that person whom 
the Almighty had sanctified and sent into the world to save lost 
mankind, and pay the price of redemption for all the sons of 
men; can you, I say, impute blasphemy unto him, for taking on 
himself the title of the Son of God? If my own assertion be 
not sufficient to convince you of my personal dignity, you must 
surely think that the many miracles I have wrought abundantly 
prove that they are the works of the Most High, as Omnipo- 
tence alone could perform them; and, therefore, that the Fa- 
ther and I are so united, that whatever I say, or do, is approved 
of by the Almighty. "Is it not written in your law, I said, 
Ye are gods? If he called them gods, upon whom the word of 
God came, and the Scriptures cannot be broken ; say ye of him, 
whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou 
blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do 
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, 
though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may 
know and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." 
John, x. 34, &c. 

But this reply instead of satisfying the Jews, rather tended to 
enrage them the more: and Jesus, seeing it was of no con- 
sequence to reason with so headstrong a people, rendered him- 
self invisible, and by that means escaped from them. " There- 

27 



232 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their 
hand." John, x, 39. 

The feast of the dedication being now over, Jesus departed 
from Jerusalem, and retired into the parts of Perea beyond Jor- 
dan. Here his ministry was attended with great success; for 
the inhabitants of the country, remembering what had been told 
them by John the Baptist, concerning Jesus, and being sensible 
that the doctrine and miracles of our blessed Saviour were fully 
equal to what the Baptist had foretold, firmly believed him to be 
the Messiah. 

According to this supposition, which seems the most agreeable 
to reason, the inhabitants of these countries enjoyed the doc- 
trines and miracles of the Son of God for a very considerable 
time. But however this be, the Evangelist tells us, that while 
he was executing his ministry beyond Jordan, he happened to 
pray publicly with such fervency, that one of his disciples, who 
was exceedingly affected both with the matter and manner of 
his address, begged he would teach them to pray. "And it 
came to pass that, as he was praying in a certain place, when 
he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to 
pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, 
When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed 
be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in 
heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And 
forgive us our sins: for we also forgive every one that is indebted 
to us. lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil." 
Luke, xi. 1 — 4. 

Soon after our blessed Saviour cast out a devil, when some, 
who were present, ascribed the miracle to Beelzebub; "And he 
was casting out a devil, and it was dumb: and it came to pass, 
when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people 
wondered. But some of them said, he casteth out devils through 
Beelzebub, the chief of the devils." Luke, xi. 14, 15. However 
strange this argument may seem, and however weak and absurd 
it must appear to impartial judges, yet it had a considerable 
effect on illiterate persons, especially on those whose prejudices 
and interests it favored. The Pharisees pretended, that as Jesus 
had all along been at great pains to oppose the traditions which 
most of the teachers of that age considered as the essentials of 
religion, and the principal branches of piety, they concluded 
that he must be a very wicked person. 

They also supposed, that a false prophet had the power of 
working signs and wonders; and thence concluded, that our 
Saviour performed all his miracles by the assistance of evil spir- 
its, with an intention to turn the people from the worship of the 
true God. 

Another pretended reason for ascribing his miracles to evil 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



233 



spirits was, that the demons themselves, when they departed out 
of the persons possessed, honored him with the title of the Mes- 
siah. Their arguments, though so evidently founded on false- 
hood, contributed largely to the infidelity of the Jews, and how- 
ever we may be surprised that such weak reasons should have 
any effect, considering what multitudes were witnesses of the 
many miracles the blessed Jesus performed on the sick of all 
sorts, on the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the maimed, the lame, on 
paralytics, lunatics, demoniacs, and other miserable objects; nay, 
on the dead, whom he raised again to life; on the winds and the 
seas; in a word, on every part of nature; yet experience hath 
abundantly convinced us, that notwithstanding all these eviden- 
ces, their own superstitious opinions fixed that headstrong people 
in their infidelity. 

Though part of the multitude were content in ascribing this 
miracle to the power of evil spirits, others went still farther, 
desiring him to prove himself the Messiah, by giving them a sign 
from heaven. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, refused to 
grant them this request: telling them that they were a wicked 
race of mortals, and discovered a very perverse disposition, by 
seeking, after so many miracles had been performed, a sign from 
heaven; and therefore, that no greater sign should be given them 
than the sign of the prophet Jonas. " This is an evil genera- 
tion: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but 
the sign of Jonas the prophet." Luke, xi. 29. 

" No man," added the Saviour of the world, " when he hath 
lighted a candle, putteth it into a secret place, neither under a 
bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see 
the light." No man endued with the spirit of God, concealeth 
the blessed gift; but holdeth forth the glorious doctrines of sal- 
vation, as it were like a candle, that the light of the same may 
shine upon the souls of men who hear them. "The light of 
the body is the eye: therefore, when thine eye is single, thy 
whole body also is full of light: but when thine eye is evil, thy 
body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that the 
light which is in thee be not darkness." Luke, xi. 34, &c. 
Take care, therefore, that thy soul is so completely enlightened 
by the spirit, that the emanation of its light be not in the least 
interrupted by an evil passion or affection; that all the faculties 
of the soul may be as much enlightened and assisted, as the mem- 
bers of the body are by the bright shining of a candle. "If thy 
whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the 
whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a can- 
dle doth give thee light." Luke, xi. 36. 

Thus did our blessed Saviour prove the truth of this mission, 
against the cavils, and sophistical reasoning of his malicious ene- 
mies. And when he had done speaking, one of the Pharisees 



234 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



present desired he would dine with him. The Redeemer of 
mankind accepting the invitation, though probably given with 
an insiduous design, accompanied the Pharisee to his house, and 
sat down to meat, but without performing the ceremony of 
washing, observed by all the other guests. 

An omission of this kind could not fail of surprising the 
Pharisee, as he had thereby shewn an open contempt of their 
traditions. Jesus, who well knew the thoughts of this bigoted 
Pharisee, said to him, Your sect are remarkably careful to keep 
every thing clean that touches your food, lest, by eating it, your 
body should be polluted; but you take no pains to clean your 
minds from the pollutions of rapine, covetousness, and wicked- 
ness. You must surely be convinced, that he who created the 
body formed also the soul, and can you imagine, that the 
Almighty, who requires purity of body, because it is the work of 
his hands, will not also insist upon a greater purity of soul, which 
is undoubtedly the far nobler part of human nature? Instead, 
therefore, of that scrupulous solicitude of washing your hands, 
when ye sit down to meat, ye should be careful to apply your- 
selves to the great duty of charity: a duty that will render it im- 
possible for any external things to defile you, but will be at all 
times acceptable to your maker. t; Now do ye Pharisees make 
clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward 
part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he 
that made that which is without, make that which is within also? 
but rather give alms of such things as ye have, and behold, all 
things are clean unto you." Luke, xi. 39, &c. 

But the Pharisees, obstinate and perverse, withstood every 
means made use of by the benign Redeemer of mankind to con- 
quer their prejudices, and bring them to the knowledge of the 
truth; and therefore our blessed Saviour treated them, on this 
occasion, with a kind and wholsome severity, denouncing against 
them the most dreadful woes, for regarding so zealously the cere- 
monial parts of religion, and at the same time utterly neglecting 
the very precepts of their own religion. "Wo unto you, Phari- 
sees, for ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass 
over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have 
done, and not to leave the other undone. Wo unto you, Phari- 
sees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and 
greetings in the markets. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites: for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men 
that walk over them are not aware of them." Luke, xi. 42. 

A certain lawyer, who sat at the table, thinking that this 
rebuke, though leveled principally against the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, affected his order also, was greatly displeased. But our 
blessed Saviour, who had never any regard to the persons of 
men, despised his resentment, and told him freely, what he 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



235 



thought of their character. "Wo unto you, also, ye lawyers; 
for ye lade men with burdens grievous to he borne, and ye your- 
selves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers." Luke, 
xi. 46. You pervert in a very erroneous manner, the interpre- 
tation of Scripture, for no other reason than to favor the tradi- 
tion of the elders, and by that means lay so heavy a burden on 
the shoulders of the descendants of Jacob, that neither you nor 
they will touch with one of their fingers. 

The blessed Jesus also condemned them for building the sepul- 
chre of the prophets, whom their fathers had murdered ; because 
they did not do it from the respect which they had for the mem- 
ory of these holy men, but from a secret approbation of their 
fathers' actions; as too evidently appeared from their whole con- 
duct. " Wo unto you : for ye build the sepulchres of the proph- 
ets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that 
ye allow the deeds of your fathers : for they indeed killed them, 
and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also, said the wisdom 
of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of 
them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood of all the 
prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world might 
be required of this generation : from the blood of Abel, unto the 
blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the 
temple: verily, I say unto you, it shall be required of this gene- 
ration." Luke, xi. 47, &c. 

Our Lord also reproved the lawyers for filling the minds of 
the people with notions founded on wrong interpretations of 
Scripture, whereby they were prejudiced against the gospel: 
not being contented with rejecting it themselves, but took care 
to hinder others from receiving it. "Wo unto you, lawyers: 
for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not 
in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." 
Luke, xi. 52. 

Such honest reprimands highly provoked the Pharisee and his 
guests. They were conscious of being guilty of the crimes laid 
to their charge, but unwilling the people should think them 
guilty; and, therefore, out of revenge, urged him to speak on a 
variety of topics, hoping they should be able by those means, to 
find occasion of rendering him obnoxious either to the govern- 
ment, or the multitude. " And as he said these things unto them, 
the Scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, 
and to provoke him to speak of many things; laying wait for 
him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they 
might accuse him." Luke, xi. 53, 54. 



236 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXL 

Explanation of the origin and opinions of the different Sects among 
the Jews. — Our Lord teaches the multitude by plain discourse^ and 
also by parables. 

Having undertaken to write the history of the life of our 
blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we cannot omit a dis- 
tinct account of the different sects of the Jews, a people with 
whom he was most intimately concerned, both as an elucidation 
of many circumstances, as well as a verification of many things 
foretold concerning the Messiah. 

Josephus reckons four principal sects among the Jews; namely, 
the Pharisees, the Sadducees (called also Herodians,) the Es- 
senes, and the Galileans. The Evangelists mention only two, 
the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

The rise of the Pharisees is unknown. They claim, indeed, 
the celebrated Hillel for their founder, as he is by some supposed 
to have lived during the pontificate of Jonathan, about a hun- 
dred and fifty years before the birth of Christ; but others, with 
more reason, suppose that he was contemporary with the famous 
Someas, who lived about the time of Herod, long before whom 
the sect of the Pharisees was in high repute. It is therefore 
probable that they claim Hillel rather as an ornament than as 
the author of the sect. 

One of the most famous tenets of the Pharisees was that of 
an oral tradition handed down from Moses, and to which they 
attributed the same divine authority as to the sacred books. 
This being strenuously opposed by the Sadducees and Samari- 
tans, rendered these equally detested by them. But none more 
incurred their hatred than the blessed Jesus, who embraced 
every occasion of reproving them for the unjustifiable preference 
they gave this pretended tradition to the written word of God, 
and for condemning those as apostates, worthy of death, who 
did not pay the same, or even a greater regard to the former 
than to the latter. 

Another tenet they embraced, in opposition to the Saddu- 
cees, was that of the existence of angels, the immortality of the 
soul, and the resurrection of the dead, and future rewards. 
But with regard to the last, they excluded all who were notori- 
ously wicked from having any share in the happiness of eternity ; 
supposing, that as soon as death had put a period to their exis- 
tence, their souls were conveyed into everlasting punishments. 

A third tenet was, that all things were subject to fate: or, as 
some expressed it, to the heavens. It is not easy to conceive 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



237 



what they meant by this: Josephus, indeed, will have it, that 
they designed to reconcile the fatality or predestination of the 
Essenes, with the free will of the Sadducees. 

If so, this is not the only absurdity, or even- contradiction, 
which they held: but a certain learned prelate seems to have 
proved that they attributed all to fate, or to that chain of causes 
to which the Creator had subjected all things from the begin- 
ning; among which the influence of the heavenly bodies was 
considered the principal. This seems to be hinted at by St. 
James, in the beginning of his epistle to the new converts, where 
he explodes that pharisaical leaven by the most beautiful exposi- 
tion of the immutability of God, the giver of all good, to the 
mutability of the planets, which, according to that notion, must 
necessarily vary their aspects from a malign to a benevolent one, 
and the contrary, even by their natural motions, and change of 
position. This tenet of the Pharisees was, therefore, a source 
of dislike to the doctrines delivered by the blessed Jesus, as these 
affirm that men are the authors of their own unbelief, disobedi- 
ence, and obstinacy; and consequently, answerable for that, and 
all the train of evils these vices draw after them. 

But the most distinguished character of the Pharisees, and 
that which rendered them most obnoxious to the just censures of 
our blessed Saviour, was, their supererogatory attachment to 
the ceremonial law, their frequent washings, fastings, and pray- 
ings, their giving alms publicly, seeking for proselytes, scrupulous 
tithings, affected gravity of dress, gesture, and mortified looks: 
their building the tombs of the prophets, to tell the world that 
they were more righteous than their ancestors, who murdered 
them, though they were themselves plotting the death of one 
greater than all the prophets; their over scrupulous observance 
of the sabbath, to the exclusion of the works of the greatest 
charity, and many others of the like nature: while they were 
wholly negligent of the moral and eternal law of mercy and 
justice, of charity and humility, and the like indispensable vir- 
tues. The very best of them contented themselves with abstain- 
ing from the actual committing any enormous act, while they 
indulged themselves in the most wicked thoughts and desires. 
Nay, some, more hardened in their vices, made no scruple, not 
only of coveting, but destroying poor widows houses; of com- 
mitting the vilest oppressions, injustices, and cruelties, and of 
encouraging these enormities in their followers, under the spe- 
cious cloak of religion and sanctity. Well, therefore, might the 
great Redeemer of mankind compare them to whited sepulchres, 
beautiful indeed without, but within, full of rottenness and cor- 
ruption. 

The last erroneous opinion we shall mention of the Pharisees, 
common, indeed, to all other sects, but more exactly conformable 



238 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to their haughty, rapacious, and cruel temper, was their expec- 
tation of a powerful, a conquering Messiah, who was to bring 
the whole world under the Jewish yoke; so there Was scarce an 
inhabitant of Jerusalem, however mean, that did not expect to 
be made a governor of some opulent province under that won- 
derful prince. How unlikely was it, then, that the preaching of 
the meek, the humble Jesus, whose doctrine breathed nothing 
but humility, peace, sincerity, contempt of the world, and uni- 
versal love and beneficence, should ever be relished by that 
proud, that covetous, that hypocritical sect, or even by the rest 
of the people, while these, their teachers, so strenuously oppo- 
sed it? 

The sect of the Sadducees is said to have been founded by one 
Saddoc, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho. Their chief tenet 
was, that our serving God ought to be free either from slavish 
fear of punishment or from selfish hope of reward; that it should 
be disinterested, and flow only from the pure love and fear of 
the Supreme Being. They added that God was the only imma- 
terial being; in consequence of which, they denied the existence 
of angels, or any spiritual substances, except the Almighty him- 
self. It is therefore no wonder, that the Sadducees should take 
every opportunity of opposing and ridiculing the doctrine of the 
resurrection. 

Another of their tenets, equally opposite to the Pharisees, and 
to the doctrine of Christ, was, that man was constituted absolute 
master of all his actions, and stood in no need of any assistance 
to choose or act: for this reason they were always very severe in 
their sentences, when they sat as judges. They rejected all the 
pretended oral traditions of the Pharisees, admitting only the 
texts of the sacred books, and preferred those of Moses to all the 
rest of the inspired writings. 

They were charged with some other erroneous tenets, by Jose- 
phus and the Talmudists; but those already mentioned are abun- 
dantly sufficient for the purpose. The notions of a future life, 
universal judgment, eternal rewards and punishments, to men, 
whom a contrary doctrine had long soothed into luxury, and an 
overgrown fondness for temporal happiness, which they consid- 
ered as the only reward for their obedience, must of necessity, 
appear strange and frightful; and as such could not fail of meet- 
ing with the strongest opposition from them; especially if we add 
what Josephus observes, that they were, in general, men of the 
greatest quality and opulence, and consequently too apt to prefer 
the pleasures and grandeur of this life to those of another. 

The sect of the Galileans (or Gaulonites) so called from Judas 
the Galilean or Gaulonite, appeared soon after the banishment 
of Archelaus, when his territories were made a Roman province, 
and the government given to Coponius. For the Jews consider- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



239 



ing this as an open attempt to reduce them to slavery, Judas took 
advantage of their discontent; and to ripen them for an insurrec- 
tion, Augustus furnished them with a plausible pretence, by issu- 
ing about this time, an edict for surveying the whole province of 
Syria, and laying on it a proportional tax. Judas, therefore, 
who was a man of uncommon ambition, took occasion from this 
incident to display all his eloquence, in order to convince the 
Jews that such a submission was nothing less than base idolatry, 
and placing men on a level with the God of Jacob who was the 
only Lord and Sovereign that could challenge their obedience 
and subjection. The party which he drew after him, became in 
a short time so considerable, that they threw every thing into 
confusion, laid the foundation for those frightful consequences 
that ensued, and which did not end but with the destruction of 
Jerusalem. 

The Essenes, though not mentioned by the Evangelists, made 
a very considerable sect among the Jews, and are highly cele- 
brated by Josephus, Philo, Pliny, and several christian writers, 
both ancient and modern. It is impossible to trace their origin, 
or even the etymology of their name. This, however, is certain, 
that they were settled in Judea, in the time of Jonathan, the 
brother and successor of Judas Maccabeus, about a hundred and 
fifty years before Christ. 

The Essenes distinguished themselves by their rules and man- 
ner of life, into laborious and contemplative. The former divided 
their time between prayer and labor; such as the exercise of 
some handicraft, or the cultivation of some particular spot of 
ground, where they planted and sowed such roots, corn, &c, as 
served for their food; and the latter, between prayer, contem- 
plation, and study. In this last, they confined themselves to the 
sacred books and morality, without troubling themselves with 
any other branch of philosophy. 

But the contemplative and laborious, had their synagogues, 
their stated hours for prayer, for reading and expounding the 
sacred books. The latter was always performed by the elders, 
who were seated at the upper end of the synagogue, according 
to their seniority; while the younger, who were permitted to read 
the lessons, were placed at the lower. Their expositions were 
generally of the allegorical kind, in which they seemed to have 
excelled all their Jewish brethren. But they paid the greatest 
regard to the five books of Moses, and considered that lawgiver 
as the head of all the inspired penmen: they even condemned 
to immediate death whoever spoke disrespectfully either of him 
or his writings. Upon this account, they studied, read, and ex- 
pounded him more than all the rest, and seem to have drawn all 
their religion chiefly from the Pentateuch. The doctrines and 
expositions of the elders were received with implicit faith, and 

28 



240 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



in their practice they conformed with an entire submission to all 
their sect. 

With respect to their faith, they believed the existence of 
angels, the immortality of the soul, and a future state of rewards 
and punishments, like the Pharisees; but seem to have had no 
notion of the resurrection. They considered the souls of men as 
composed of a most subtle aether, which immediately after their 
separation from the body, or from the cage or prison, as they 
called it, were adjudged to a place of endless happiness or 
misery: that the good took their flight over the ocean, into some 
warm or delightful regions prepared for them; while the wicked 
were conveyed to some cold and intemperate climates, where 
they were left to groan under an inexpressible weight of misery. 
They were likewise entirely averse to the Sadducean doctrine 
of free-will, attributing all to an eternal fatality, or chain of cau- 
ses. They were averse to all kinds of oaths: affirming that a 
man's life ought to be such that he may be credited without 
them. The contemplative sort placed the excellency of their 
meditative life in raising their minds above the earth, and fixing 
their thoughts on heaven: when they had attained this degree of 
excellency, they acquired the character of prophets. 

In their practice they excelled all the other sects in austerity. 
If we may credit Philo, it was a fundamental maxim with them, 
upon their entrance into the contemplative life, to renounce the 
world, and to divide among their friends and relations their 
properties and estates. They never ate till after sun-set, and the 
best of their food was coarse bread, a little salt, and a few stom- 
achic herbs. Their clothing was made of coarse wool, plain but 
white: they condemned all sorts of unctions and perfumes, as 
luxurious and effeminate. Their beds were hard, and their 
sleep short. Their heads or superiors were generally chosen 
according to seniority, unless there started up among the brother- 
hood some more conspicuous for learning, piety, or prophetic 
spirit. Some of them, indeed, were so contemplative that they 
never stirred out of their cell, or even looked out of their win- 
dow, during the whole week, spending their time in reading the 
sacred books, and writing comments upon them. On the sab- 
bath-day they repaired to their synagogues, early in the morn- 
ing, and continued there the whole day in prayers, singing of 
psalms, or expounding the sacred books. 

Having endeavored to explain the origin and tenets of the 
several sects among the Jews, we now return to the history of 
our blessed Saviour, whom we left preaching in the country be- 
yond Jordan, where he was surrounded by an innumerable mul- 
titude of people. 

In the audience of this vast assembly, he gave his disciples, in 
general, a charge, to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



241 



namely, hypocrisy; because all their actions would be brought 
to light, either in this world or in that which is to come: and 
therefore exhorted them to be very careful never to do any 
thing which could not bear the light, but to let the whole of 
their behavior be honest, just, and good. "Beware ye of 
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is 
nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that 
shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in 
darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have 
spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house- 
tops." Luke, xii. 1 — 3. 

This argument against hypocrisy he improved as a reason for 
their acquiring another quality, which would much better serve 
all the ends they could propose; namely, an undaunted resolu- 
tion in the performance of their duty, founded on a firm confi- 
dence in God, who would bring to light the most secret word 
and thought, publicly condemn the wicked, and justify his faith- 
ful servants and children. 

Fear not, said he, the malice of the human race: it can 
extend no farther than the destruction of the body; your soul 
may bid defiance to their impotent rage. But dread the dis- 
pleasure of that Almighty Being, who, after he has destroyed the 
body, is able to confine the soul in eternal torments. Remem- 
ber all things are in his power, and that nothing happens with- 
out his permission: he provides for the meanest of his creatures, 
and surely you may think yourselves under his protection, who 
numbers the very hairs of your head; nor can your enemies 
touch one of them without his permission. "And I say unto 
you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and 
after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn 
you, whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed 
hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him. 
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of 
them is forgotten before God? but even the very hairs of your 
head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; ye are of more 
value than many sparrows."' Luke, xii. 4, &c. 

Our Lord to animate his followers to a perseverance, admon- 
ishes them to look forward unto the general judgment, when he 
would acknowledge them as his servants, provided they acknowl- 
edged him in this world as their master, and cheerfully and con- 
stantly obeyed his commands. But if they were ashamed of 
him, and his doctrine, before the sons of men, he would disown 
them before the celestial host. And that those who reviled the 
Spirit, by whom they performed their miracles, should be pun- 
ished by the Almighty, in proportion to the malignity of their 
crime, which is greater than that of reviling the Son of God 
himself; because it will be impossible for them to repent. 



242 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



"Also, I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, 
him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. 
But he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the 
angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the 
Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blas- 
phemeth the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven/' Luke, xiii. 
8, &c. 

He also cautioned his disciples not to be perplexed with re- 
gard to an answer, when they should be brought before the 
rulers of the people, because they should be inspired by the 
Spirit of God. "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, 
and unto magistrates and powers, take ye no thought how or 
what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say. For the Holy 
Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." 
Luke, xii. 11, 12. 

While our blessed Saviour was delivering these exhortations 
to his disciples, a certain person among the multitude begged 
him that he would interpose his authority with his brother, in 
order to oblige him to divide their paternal inheritance between 
them: but as this decision properly belonged to the magistrates, 
our blessed Saviour, who came into the world to redeem the 
souls of mankind, and to purchase for them an eternal, not a 
temporal inheritance, declined the office. He however embra- 
ced the opportunity of giving his hearers the most solemn cau- 
tion against covetousness; declaring, that neither the length 
nor happiness of human life had any dependance on the large- 
ness of possessions. "Take heed, and beware of covetousness; 
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things 
which he possesseth." Luke, xii. 15. 

To excite their negligence of the things of this life, he placed 
before them in the strongest light an example of the bewitching 
influence of wealth, in the parable of the rich glutton, who was 
cut off in the midst of his projects, and became a remarkable 
example of the folly of amassing the goods of this life, without 
having any regard to the commands of the Almighty. This 
wretched man, forgetting his own mortality, made preparations 
for a long and luxurious life, pleasing himself with thoughts of 
possessing an inexhaustible fund of sensual enjoyments. But, 
alas! while he was providing repositories for his riches, the in- 
exorable king of terrors seized him, and that very night hur- 
ried him before the awful tribunal of Omnipotence. And he 
spake a parable unto them, saying, " The ground of a certain 
rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within him- 
self, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where 
to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull 
down my barns, and build greater: and there will I bestow all 
my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



243 



hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, 
drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, 44 Thou fool, this 
night thy soul shall be required of thee : then whose shall these 
things be, which thou hast provided?" Luke, xii. 1G, &c. 

44 So is he," added our blessed Saviour, "that layeth up trea- 
sure for himself, and is not rich towards God." Thus shall he 
be taken away from all his soul desireth; thus shall he be torn 
from all his temporal prospects and pleasures. None of his be- 
loved enjoyments shall follow him; naked as he came shall he 
depart out of the world, nor shall all his riches be able to pro- 
cure him the least comfort or respite in these scenes of terror. 
How should this reflection awaken us to a due care of our im- 
mortal part! how would it alarm us, when planning fancied 
schemes of worldly pleasures, without the least regard to the 
great Disposer of all events! Without his assistance, all our 
promises of security are vain and foolish; he will surely render 
all our labors abortive; and in a moment, when we think our- 
selves secure, the summons shall arrive, swift as the forky light- 
ning's flash, convey us to the boundless regions of eternity, and 
present us, clothed in all our guilt, before the just, the mighty 
Author of our being! 

This awakening parable exhibits a striking picture of the 
egregious folly of those who live only for themselves, laying up 
treasures for sensual enjoyments, but neglect the grace of 
God, and the immense treasure of salvation laid up in Jesus 
Christ. 

Having spoken this parable, our Lord proceeded to caution 
his disciples against anxious cares for the things of this world, 
from a consideration that the care of God's providence extends 
to every part of the creation. The fowls of heaven are fed by 
his bounty, and the lilies that adorn the valleys are supplied 
with rain from the clouds of heaven: If, therefore, said the 
blessed Jesus, Omnipotence so carefully provides for the inferior 
parts of the creation, the children of men have surely reason to 
rely on his bounty, and depend for subsistence on his merciful 
hand. He added, that as God had destined them to everlast- 
ing happiness in a future life, he would surely provide for them 
all the necessaries of the present. 44 Fear not, little flock; for it 
is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." At 
the same time he gave his disciples another precept, peculiarly 
calculated for those times, in which the profession of the gospel 
exposed men to the loss of their substance : 44 Sell that ye have, 
and give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a 
treasure in the heavens that faileth not; where no thief ap- 
proacheth, neither moth corrupteth: for where your treasure is, 
there will your heart be also." Lake, xii. 33, 34. 

Having thus recommended to them the disengagement of 



244 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

their affections from the thin 25 of this world, he exhorted them 
to labor after improvement in grace. "Let your loins be gir- 
ded about, and your lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto 
men that wait for their Lord, when he shall return from the 
wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open 
unto him immediately." Luke. xii. 35. 36. 

This was spoken in allusion to the customs of the East, where 
anciently great entertainments were made in the evening: and 
on these occasions servants demonstrated their diligence by 
watching, and keeping their loins girded, and their lamps burn- 
ing, that they might be ready, on the first knock of their mas- 
ter, to open the door. Nor was it uncommon for the master, 
in order to reward such a servant, to order him a refreshment, 
and sometimes even give it him with his own hand. In allu- 
sion to which custom, our blessed Saviour added. " Blessed are 
those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh. shall find 
watching. Verily. I say unto you. that he shall gird himself 
and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and 
serve them." Luke, xii. 37. 

Our Saviour enforced this constant watchfulness, and habitual 
preparation, by reminding them of the uncertaintv of his coming: 
telling his disciples, that as every master of a family, if he knew 
the coming of the thief, would make some preparation against a 
surprise, so it would be highly requisite for them to make some 
preparation for the approach of their Master, and be always 
readv to receive him. as the time of his coming was uncertain. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Our Lord represses the ignorance of the people in not understanding 
the signs which preceded his appearance. — Pertinently replies to 
an ignorant question and inference concerning the Galileans. — 
Teaches by parable. — Relieves a distressed Woman. — Is warned to 
depart the country, in order to escape the resentment of Herod. 

The great Preacher of Israel having delivered these salutary 
admonitions to his disciples and followers, directed his discourse 
to the unbelieving crowd. You can. said he. by the signs that 
appear in the sky. and on the earth, form a judgment of the 
weather: and whv can ye not also discover the time of the 
Messiah's appearance by the signs which have preceded it? 
'•When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say. 
There cometh a shower: and so it is. And when ye see the 
south wind blow, ve say. There will be heat: and it cometh to 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



245 



pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, and of 
the earth, but how is it that ye do not discern this time?" Luke, 
xii. 54, &c. 

The prediction of the Son of Man coming to punish the 
Jews for their rebellion and infidelity, delivered under the simil- 
itude of one who cometh secretly and unexpectedly to plunder 
a house, was a loud call to a national repentance. In order, 
therefore, to improve that prediction, he exhorted them to a 
speedy reformation, telling them that the least degree of reflec- 
tion would be sufficient to point out to them the best methods 
they could possibly make use of for averting the impending 
judgments of the Almighty; illustrating what he had said, by 
the punishments commonly inflicted on the man who refuses to 
make a reparation for the injuries he has done his neighbor. 
"When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as 
thou art in the way give diligence that thou mayest be delivered 
from him, lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver 
thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell 
thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very 
last mite." Luke, xii. 58, 59. 

Some of his hearers thought proper to confirm this doctrine, 
by giving what they considered as an example of it. "There 
were present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans, 
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices;" thinking 
that Providence, for some extraordinary crime, had suffered 
these Galileans to be murdered at the altar. 

But our Lord showed them the error of their opinion and in- 
ference concerning this point, it being no indication that these 
Galileans were greater sinners than their countrymen, because 
they had suffered so severe a calamity, and at the same time 
exhorted them to improve such instances of calamity, as incite- 
ments to their own repentance; assuring them, that if they ne- 
glected so salutary a work, they should all likewise perish. "And 
Jesus answering, said unto them, Suppose ye, that these Gali- 
leans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered 
such things? I tell you, nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish." Luke, xiii. 2, &c. 

He illustrated this doctrine, by putting them in mind of the 
eighteen persons, on whom the tower of Siloam fell; showing 
them by this instance, the folly of interpreting the dispensations 
of Providence in that manner; for though this calamity seemed 
to flow immediately from the hand of God, yet, in all proba- 
bility, it had involved people who were remarkable for their 
piety and goodness. " Or those eighteen upon whom the tower 
in Siloam fell, and slew them: think ye that they were sinners 
above all men that dwelt at Jerusalem? I tell you, nay; but, 
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke, xiii. 4, 5. 



246 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



To rouse them from their indolence, and to induce them to 
seek the aid of God's grace and spirit, he added the parable of 
the fig-tree, which the master of the vineyard, after finding it 
three years barren, ordered to be destroyed: but was spared 
one year longer at the earnest solicitation of the gardener. "A 
certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came 
and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto 
the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come 
seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why 
cumbereth it the ground? And he answering, said unto him, 
Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung 
it; and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou 
shalt cut it down." Luke, xiii. 6, &c. 

By this parable our blessed Saviour represented the goodness 
of the Almighty towards the Jews in choosing them for his peo- 
ple, giving them the outward dispensations of religion, and in- 
forming them of the improvements he expected they should 
make of these advantages, and the punishments he would in- 
flict upon them, in case they slighted such benevolent offers. 
He also represented by it, in a very beautiful manner, the un- 
bounded mercies of the Almighty, in sparing them, at the inter- 
cession of his Son, and giving them a farther time of trial, and 
still greater advantages, by the preaching of the blessed Jesus, 
and his apostles; concluding with an intimation, that if they 
neglected this last opportunity, they should perish without 
remedy. 

During Jesus' abode in the country of Perca, he observed, 
while he was preaching in one of the synagogues, on the sab- 
bath-day, a woman, who, during the space of eighteen years, 
had been unable to stand upright. A daughter of Israel labor- 
ing under so terrible a disorder, could not fail of attracting the 
compassion of the Son of God. 

He beheld this affecting object: he pitied her deplorable con- 
dition, he removed her complaint. She who came into the syn- 
agogue, bowed down with an infirmity, was, by the all-powerful 
word of the Son of God, restored to her natural health, and re- 
turned to her house upright, and full of vigor. 

Such a display of divine power and goodness, instead of exci- 
ting the gratitude, so highly offended the master of the syna- 
gogue, that he openly testified his displeasure, and reproved the 
people as sabbath-breakers, because they came on that day to 
be healed. " There are six days," said this surly ruler to the 
people, "in which men ought to work: in them therefore come 
and be healed, and not on the sabbath-day." Luke, xiii. 14. 

But our blessed Saviour soon silenced this hypocritical Phari- 
see, by showing that he had not deviated from their own avowed 
practice. They made no scruple of loosing their cattle, and 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



247 



leading them to water on the sabbath-day, because the mercy 
of the action sufficiently justified them for performing it. And 
surely his action of loosing, by a single word, a woman, a 
rational creature, a daughter of Abraham, that had been bound 
by an incurable distemper during the tedious interval of eigh- 
teen years, was abundantly justified; nor could this bigoted 
ruler have thought otherwise, had not his reason been blinded 
by his superstition. "The Lord then answered him, and said, 
Thou hypocrite! doth not each one of you, on the sabbath, 
loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to 
watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of 
Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, 
be loosed from this bond on the sabbath-day? And when he 
had said these things all his adversaries were ashamed, and all 
the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by 
him." Luke xiii. 15, &c. 

From this instance we may form some idea of the pernicious 
effects of superstition, which is capable of extinguishing reason, 
banishing compassion, and of eradicating the most essential 
principles and feelings of the human breast. 

Our Lord having reproved the superstition of the ruler of the 
synagogue, and observing the acclamations of the people, then 
proceeded to demonstrate the reason and truth which so effectu- 
ally supported his kingdom. For he repeated the parables of 
the grain of mustard seed and of the leaven, to show the effica- 
cious operations of the gospel upon the minds of the children 
of men, and its rapid progress through the world, notwithstand- 
ing all the opposition of its most inveterate enemies. 

The great Redeemer having now planted the seeds of the 
gospel in the country of Perea, crossed the Jordan, and tra- 
veled by slow journeys towards Jerusalem, preaching the gos- 
pel in every village, and declaring the glad tidings of salvation 
to all the inhabitants of those countries. 

While he was thus laboring for the salvation of mankind, one 
of the persons who accompanied him, asked him, "Lord, are 
there few that be saved?" In all probability, the person who 
proposed this question had heard the Son of God describe the 
success of the gospel by the parables of the mustard seed and 
the leaven; and his notions of the kingdom of the Messiah being 
those that were then entertained by the Jews in general, he 
meant a temporal salvation. But Jesus, to convince him that 
he never intended to erect a secular kingdom, answered the 
question in a spiritual manner, and told him that a small num- 
ber only of the Jews would be saved; exhorting them to em- 
brace the offers of mercy before it was too late; for that many, 
after the period of their trial was concluded, and their state 

29 



248 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



finally and irreversibly determined, should earnestly desire these 
benevolent offers, but should be denied their request. 

« Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many, I say unto 
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once 
the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, 
and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer, and say unto you, 
I know ye not, whence you are." Luke xiii. 24, 25. He also 
repeated, on this occasion, what he had before delivered in his 
famous sermon on the mount, and what he had observed to the 
multitude in commendation of the centurion's faith: "Then shall 
ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and 
thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I 
know you not, whence ye are: depart from me, all ye workers 
of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, 
when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the 
prophets, in the kindom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 
And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from 
the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom 
of God. And behold, there are last which shall be first, and 
there are first which shall be last." Luke. xiii. 26, &c. 

Immediately after Jesus had thus preached the kingdom of 
God to the multitude, certain of the Pharisees came to him, and 
told him, that unless he departed thence, Herod would destroy 
him. But this concern for his safety was altogether feigned, and 
their real design no other than to intimidate him; hoping by that 
means to induce him to leave the country, and retire into Judea, 
where they did not doubt but the chief priests would find some 
method of putting him to death. Perhaps Herod himself was 
privy to this message, and desired that Jesus should leave his 
territories, though the agonies he had suffered on account of 
John the Baptist, hindered him from making use of force. That 
this was really the case seems evident from the answer our 
blessed Saviour made to the Pharisees. "Go ye," said he, to 
those hypocritical Israelites, "and tell that fox, Behold I cast 
out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk to-day, 
and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a 
prophet perish out of Jerusalem." Luke, xiii. 32, 33. 

Having given this answer to the Pharisees, he reflected on the 
treatment the prophets had received from the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem; pathetically lamented their obstinacy, and the terri- 
ble desolation that would in a short time overtake them. "Oh! 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest 
them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered 
thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her 
wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



249 



desolate: and verily I say unto you, ye shall not see me, until 
the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord." Luke, xiii. 34, 35. 



CHAPTER XXIII. i 

The blessed Jesus accepts the Pharisee's invitation a third time. — - 
Delivers divers Parables, representing the requisites for admit- 
tance into the Kingdom of God. — The care of the Redeemer for 
every one of his people. — The reception of a penitent Sinner; 
and the punishment of misusing the benefits of the Gospel. 

Our Saviour, having finished this awful exclamation and 
prediction was invited by one of the Pharisees to his house. 
Though he knew that his invitation arose not from a generous 
motive, yet, as he never shunned any opportunity of doing good, 
even to his most implacable enemies, he accepted it. At his 
entering the Pharisee's house, they placed before him a man 
that had a dropsy, doubtless with an intention to accuse him for 
healing on the sabbath-day; being persuaded that he would 
work a miracle in favor of so melancholy an object. Jesus, 
who knew the secret thoughts of their hearts, asked the lawyers 
and Pharisees, whether it was " lawful to heal on the sabbath- 
day?" But they refusing to give any answer to the question, 
Jesus laid his hand on the diseased person, and immediately his 
complexion returned, his body was reduced to its ordinary 
* dimension, and his former health and strength renewed in an 
instant. So surprising a miracle might surely have convinced 
the Pharisees that the author must have been endued with 
power from on high; but, instead of being persuaded that he 
was a person sent from God, and labored only for the benefit of 
the children of men, they were contriving how they might turn 
this miracle to his disadvantage. Our Lord, however, soon dis- 
concerted their projects, by proving, that according to their own 
avowed practice, he had done nothing but what was truly law- 
ful. "Which of you," said he, "shall have an ass or an ox 
fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the 
sabbath-day?" If a misfortune happens to one of your beasts, 
you make no scruple of assisting it on the sabbath, though the 
action may be attended with considerable labor: and surely I 
may relieve a descendant of Abraham, when nothing more is 
requisite than touching him with my hand. This argument was 
conclusive; and so plain, that the grossest stupidity must feel its 
force, and the most virulent malice could not contradict it. 



250 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



As the entertainment approached, our blessed Saviour had 
an opportunity of observing the pride of the Pharisees, and 
remarking what an anxiety each of them expressed to obtain 
the most honorable place at the table. Nor did he let their 
ridiculous behavior pass without a proper animadversion; in 
which he observed, that pride generally exposes a person to 
many affronts, and that humility is the surest method of gaining 
respect. "When thou art bidden," said he, "of any man to a 
wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honora- 
ble man than thou be bidden of him ; and he that bade thee and 
him come and say unto thee, Give this man place: and thou 
begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art 
bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that 
bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: 
then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit 
at meat with thee. For whosoever exalte th himself shall be 
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke, 
xiv. 8, &c. 

Having thus addressed the guests in general, he turned him to 
the master of the house, and said unto him, "When thou makest 
a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 
neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors: lest they also bid 
thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou 
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind." 
Luke, xiv, 12, 13. Be very careful not to limit thy hospitality 
to the rich, but let the poor also partake of thy bounty, " And 
thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for 
thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." 
Luke, xiv. 14. 

One of the Pharisees, ravished with the delightful prospect of 
the happiness good men enjoyed in the heavenly Canaan, cried 
out, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." 
Blessed is he, who, being admitted into the happy regions of 
paradise, shall enjoy the conversation of the inhabitants of those 
heavenly countries; as those spiritual repasts must regale and 
invigorate his mind beyond expression. In answer to which, 
our blessed Saviour delivered the parable of the marriage sup- 
per; representing, by the invitation of the guests, the doctrine 
of the gospel, and the success those beneficent invitations to the 
great feast of heaven should meet with among the Jews; fore- 
telling, that though it was attended with every inviting circum- 
stance, they would disdainfully reject it, and prefer the plea- 
sures of a temporal existence to those of an eternal state; while 
the Gentiles, with the greatest cheerfulness, would embrace the 
beneficent offer, and thereby be prepared to sit down with 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the happy mansions of the king- 
dom of heaven. But as this parable was afterwards spoken by 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



251 



our blessed Saviour in the temple, we shall defer our observations 
on it, till we come to the history where it was again delivered. 

When Jesus departed the Pharisee's house, great multitudes 
of people thronged to him to hear his doctrine; but mistook his 
true intention of it, expecting he was going to establish the 
Messiah's throne in Jerusalem, and render all the nations of 
the world tributary to his power. The benevolent Jesus there- 
fore took this opportunity to undeceive them; and to declare, 
in the plainest terms, that his kingdom was not of this world; 
and, consequently, that those who expected, by following him, 
to obtain temporal advantages, would find themselves wretch- 
edly mistaken; as, on the contrary, his disciples must expect to 
be persecuted from city to city, aud hated of all men, for his 
name's sake: though it was requisite for those who would be 
his true followers, to prefer his service to the riches, grandeur, 
and pleasure of the world; and to show, by their conduct, that 
they had much less respect and value for the dearest objects 
of their affections, than for him. "If any man come to me, 
and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and 
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be 
my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come 
after me, cannot be my disciple." Luke, xiv. 26, 27. 

And in order to induce them to weigh this doctrine attentively 
in their minds, he elucidated it with two apposite cases, that of 
an unthinking builder, and that of a rash warrior. The former 
was obliged to leave his structure unfinished, because he had 
foolishly begun the building before he had computed the cost; 
and the latter reduced to the dilemma of being ingloriously de- 
feated, or meanly suing for peace, previous to the battle, having 
rashly declared war, before he had considered the strength of 
his own and his enemy's army. " So likewise, whosoever he be 
of you," added the blessed Jesus, "that forsaketh not all that 
he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Luke, xiv. 33. 

The publicans and sinners roused by the alarming doctrine of 
our Lord, listened to it attentively. This opportunity was rea- 
dily embraced by the great Redeemer of mankind, who not 
only condescended to preach to them the happy tidings of eter- 
nal life, but even accompanied them to their own houses; that, 
if possible, the seeds of the gospel might take root in their 
hearts. But this condescension of the meek and humble Jesus 
was considered, by the haughty Pharisees, as an action too 
mean for the character of a prophet. They murmured, and 
were highly displeased at a condescension, which ought to have 
given them the greatest joy. But Jesus soon showed them their 
mistake, by repeating to them the parables of the lost sheep and 
piece of money. Intimating thereby, the great care all pro- 
phets and pastors ought to take of those committed to their 



252 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



care, and the obligation they are under of searching diligently 
for every wandering sinner, whose conversion is a grateful offer- 
ing to the Almighty. "There is joy in the presence of the an- 
gels of God, over one sinner that repenteth." Luke, xv. 10. 

To illustrate this doctrine still farther, and show to the great- 
est sinner, the willingness of God to receive him into his grace 
and favor, if convinced of his unworthy and lost condition in 
himself, and imploring forgiveness through the merits of Jesus 
Christ, and the renewal of his heart by the efficacious influences 
of his Spirit, he delivered the expressive parable of the prodigal 
son. 

A certain man had two sons, the younger of whom, not con- 
tent to live in his father's house, safe under his protection, and 
happy under his eye, desired his father to give him the portion 
of goods which fell to his share. The indulgent father did not 
hesitate to grant his request; but the ungrateful son had no 
sooner obtained what he asked of his parent, than he left the 
presence and neighborhood of so kind a father, and retired 
into a far country, where he had an opportunity of indulging, 
without restraint, his wicked inclinations; and there he wasted 
his substance in riotous living. Having thus consumed the por- 
tion given him by his indulgent parent, he began to feel the 
miseries of want, and, to add to his misfortunes, a terrible famine 
arose in that land; so that he soon became acquainted with the 
sharp stings of hunger. In this distressed condition, he joined 
himself to a citizen of that country, willing to try every expe- 
dient, rather than return to his kind, his merciful father, and 
humbly confess his faults. His master, from a just contempt of 
his former prodigality, employed him in the meanest and most 
contemptible offices; he sent him into his field to feed swine. 
Behold here, ye sons of extravagance, a change indeed! Be- 
hold this thoughtless prodigal, reduced at pnce from a life of 
voluptuousness and gaiety, a life of pleasure and excess, to a life 
of the most abject slavery, a life of penury and want! Nay, 
so great was his hunger, so prodigious his distress, that he would 
even have been contented, in this miserable state, to have satis- 
fied the cravings of hunger, with the husks eaten by the swine: 
but no man relieved him, no man showed the least compassion 
for him; so that the very swine were in abetter condition than 
this miserable prodigal! 

Thus miserably reduced, he was brought to himself: he had 
hitherto been in a state of utter forgetfulness; but now began to 
reflect on his happy condition, while he continued with his 
father, before he had deviated from the paths of virtue, and to 
compare it with his present deplorable condition. "How many 
hired servants of my father," said he to himself, "have bread 
enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" I will there- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



253 



fore, undeserving as I am, have recourse to his merc}^ and favor. 
"I will arise and go to my father," for such he still is, and I, 
though wretched and lost, am jet his son; I will therefore, say 
unto him, " Father, I have sinned against heaven and before 
thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son:" that hap- 
piness is too great for me to expect or desire. I have, by my 
behavior, forfeited all the right I once had in so endearing, so 
valuable a title : " Make me as one of thy hired servants." I 
desire nothing more than that thou wouldst mercifully receive 
me as one of thy hired servants. 

Having thus taken a firm resolution of throwing himself at 
the feet of his father, and imploring forgiveness for his past 
offences, he did not delay to put it immediately into execution; 
he arose, and with the utmost expedition came to his father. 

A scene of tenderness and affection, amazingly pathetic, now 
presents itself to our view ! His kind, his affectionate father, 
saw him while he was yet afar off ; his bowels yearned towards 
him ; he had compassion on his lost, his ruined child : paternal 
fondness would not suffer him to forbear; he ran to meet him, 
he fell on his neck, he kissed him. Encouraged by this kind 
reception, the son fell down at his father's feet and began to 
make confession of his faults, to plead his own unworthiness, to 
request his father's pardon. "Father," said he, "I have sinned 
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be 
called thy son." He was not suffered to proceed any further; 
the love of his parent prevented the rest ; he commanded his 
servants to bring the best robe, and put it on him ; to put a ring 
on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and to kill the fatted calf, 
that they might eat and be merry. " For this, my son," said he, 
"was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." 

During this transaction, the elder brother was in the field, 
properly employed in his father's business; but returning from 
thence, and hearing the sound of mirth, music, and dancing, he 
called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant? 
The servant replied, that his younger brother was returned, and 
that his father had killed the fatted calf, because he had receiv- 
ed him safe and sound. This news greatly displeased the elder 
son; he was very angry, and refused to go in, upon which his 
father came out and entreated him ; but he replied, " Lo ! these 
many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time 
thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I 
might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son 
was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou 
hast killed for him the fatted calf." Lake, xv. 29, &c. 

His father, with the most amiable condescending tenderness, 
replied, " Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is 
thine: it was meet that we should make merry and be glad: for 



254 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and 
is found." Though he hath devoured my living with harlots, 
yet he is both thy brother and my son; thou shouldest not, 
therefore, be angry, because he has repented, and is returned, 
after we thought him irrecoverably lost. 

Thus beautifully did our Lord represent the work of grace on 
the heart of man, from the first conviction of sin to the absolute 
confession of it; showing at the same time there can be no true 
confession, without a thorough consciousness of guilt, a sense of 
our lost state, and an entire reliance on the mercy of God 
through Christ our Lord. 

The obstinacy and malicious temper of the Pharisees, who 
opposed every good doctrine, made a deep impression on the 
spirit of the blessed Jesus; he did not therefore content himself 
barely with justifying his receiving sinners, in order to their 
being justified and saved through him, but, in presence of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, turned himself to his disciples and deli- 
vered the parable of the artful steward, as an instance of the 
improvements made by the children of this world, in embracing 
every opportunity and advantage for improving their interests. 
"There was," said he, "a certain rich man, which had a steward, 
and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his 
goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I 
hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship: for 
thou mayst be no longer steward." Luke, xvi. 1, 2. 

This reprimand of his lord, and the inward conviction of his 
own conscience that the accusation was just, induced him to 
reflect on his own ill management of his lord's affairs, and in 
what manner he should support himself when he should be 
discharged from his service. "What shall I do?" said he, "for 
my lord taketh away from me the stewardship; I cannot dig, 
to beg I am ashamed." Luke, xvi. 3. 

In this manner he deliberated with himself, and at last resolv- 
ed on the following expedient, in order to make himself friends, 
who would succor him in his distress: "I am resolved what to 
do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive 
me into their houses; so he called every one of his lord's debtors 
unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my 
lord? and he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto 
him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then 
said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, 
An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, take 
thy bill, and write four score." Luke, xvi. 4, &c. 

To illustrate this parable, we beg leave to observe, that the 
riches and trade of the Jews originally consisted principally in 
the products of the earth : they were, if we may be allowed the 
expression, a nation of farmers and shepherds: so that their 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



255 



wealth chiefly arose from the produce of their flocks and herds, 
and the fruits of the earth; their corn, their wine, and their oil. 

Thus the steward, to secure the friendship of his lord's tenants, 
bound them to him under a lasting obligation; and his master, 
when he heard of the proceeding of the steward, commended 
him, not because he had acted honestly, but because he had 
acted wisely: he commended the art and address he had shewn, 
in procuring a future subsistence; he commended the prudence 
and ingenuity he had used with regard to his own private inter- 
est, and to deliver him from future poverty and distress. " For 
the children of this world," added the blessed Jesus, " are in 
their generation wiser than the children of light." They are 
more prudent and careful, more anxious and circumspect to 
secure their possessions in this world, than the children of light 
are to secure in the next an eternal inheritance. "And I say 
unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unright- 
eousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into ever- 
lasting habitations." Luke, xvi. 9. 

This advice of our Saviour is worthy our most serious atten- 
tion; the best use we can make of our riches being to employ 
them in promoting the salvation of others. For if we use our 
abilities and interest in turning sinners from the evil of their 
ways; if we spend our wealth in this excellent service, we shall 
conciliate the good will of all the heavenly beings, who will 
greatly rejoice at the conversion of sinners, and with open arms 
receive us into the mansions of felicity. 

But this is not the whole application our Saviour made of 
this parable. He added, that if we made use of our riches in 
the manner he recommended, we should be received into those 
everlasting habitations, where all the friends of virtue and reli- 
gion reside; because, by our fidelity in managing the small 
trust of temporal advantages committed to our care, we show 
ourselves worthy and capable of a much greater trust in hea- 
venly employments. But if, on the contrary, we do not apply 
our riches to the glory of God, and the good of mankind, we 
shall be for ever banished from the abode of the blessed; be- 
cause, in behaving unfaithfully in the small trust committed to 
us here, we render ourselves both unworthy and incapable of 
a share in this everlasting inheritance. " He that is faithful in 
that which is least, is faithful also in much : and he that is un- 
just in the least, is unjust also in much. If, therefore, ye have 
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will com- 
mit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been 
faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that 
which is your own?" Luke, xvi. 10, &c. 

And if, while ye are God's stewards and servants, ye desert 
your trust, and become slaves to the desire of riches, you can 

30 



256 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



expect no other than to be called to a strict account of your 
stewardship; covetousness being as absolutely inconsistent with 
a true concern for the cause of Christ, as it is for a man to un- 
dertake at one and the same time to serve two masters of con- 
trary dispositions, and opposite interests. "No servant can 
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the 
other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. 
Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Luke, xvi. 13. 

The hypocritical Pharisees treated this observation with deri- 
sion; to which our Lord replied, "Ye are they which justify 
yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that 
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight 
of God." Luke, xvi. 15. 

Such is the parable, and such is our Lord's application of it, 
from whence the main intention and design of it is very evident. 
It was intended to incite us to a zealous concern for our future 
and eternal state, by making a due use of the means of grace, 
and working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, yet 
remembering, that it is God who worketh in us both to will and 
to do of his own good pleasure. And if we thus employ our 
spiritual talents, we shall joyfully stand at the right hand of the 
great Judge of all the earth, and receive from him a public tes- 
timony of our faith and love. "Come, ye blessed of my Fa- 
ther, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the beginning 
of the world; for I was an hungry and ye gave me meat, I was 
thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took 
me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited 
me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Jesus rebukes the insolent derision of the Pharisees* — Describes, by a 
parable, the nature of future rewards and punishments, and en- 
forces the doctrine of mutual forbearance. 

The doctrines lately delivered by our Lord, being so repug- 
nant to the avaricious principles of the Pharisees, they attended 
to the doctrine of our Saviour, with regard to the true use of 
riches, and the impossibility of men serving God and mammon; 
but at the same time they derided him as a visionary speculatist, 
who despised the pleasures of this world, for no other reason 
than because he was not able to procure them. It is, therefore, 
no wonder, that men, who had shown such a complication of the 
very worst dispositions, should receive a sharp rebuke from the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



257 



meek and humble Jesus; accordingly, he told them that they 
made indeed, specious pretences to extraordinary sanctity, by 
outwardly shunning the company of sinners, while* in private 
they made no scruple of having society with them, or even of 
joining with them in their wickedness. 44 Ye are they which 
justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts." 
Ye may, indeed, cover the foulness of your crimes with the 
painted cloak of hypocrisy, and in this disguise deceive those 
who look no further than the outside, but ye cannot screen your 
wickedness from the penetrating eye of Omnipotence, to whom 
all things are naked and exposed, and who judges of things, not 
by their appearances, but according to truth; it is, therefore, no 
wonder that he often abhors both persons and things that are 
held by men in the highest estimation : " for that which is highly 
esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." 

This affected sanctity, while the mind is unrenewed, is an 
abomination to the God of purity and truth. Jesus Christ de- 
tested hypocrisy, and frequented the company of publicans and 
sinners, to bring about their conversion; the Mosaic dispensa- 
tion, which made a difference between men, ceasing when John 
the Baptist first preached the doctrine of repentance; and the 
Gospel dispensation, which admits all repenting sinners, without 
distinction, then commenced. " The law and the prophets were 
until John : since that time the kingdom of God is preached, 
and every man presseth into it." Luke, xvi. 16. 

Think not I mean to destroy, but to fulfill, the law, which is 
of essential obligation ; for till the law is abrogated, the least of 
its precepts cannot be neglected. 44 It is easier for heaven and 
earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke, xvi. 17. 

After treating of these particulars, he proceeded to consider 
the love of pleasure, so highly valued by the Pharisees, whose 
lust discovered itself by their frequent divorces, a practice which 
our blessed Saviour justly condemned: "Whosoever putteth 
away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and 
whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, 
committeth adultery." Luke, xvi. 18. 

These reasons were clear and unanswerable; but the Phari- 
sees, stupified and intoxicated with sensual pleasures, were deaf 
to every argument, how powerful soever, provided it was lev- 
elled against their lusts. In order to illustrate this truth, con- 
firm his assertion, and rouse these hypocritical rulers from their 
lethargy, he spoke the awakening parable of the rich man and 
the beggar. 

44 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple 
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there 
was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, which was laid at his 
gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that 



258 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fell from the rich man's table: moreover." so great was his mercy, 
so exquisite his distress, "the dogs came and licked his sores." 
Thus wretched in life, the Almighty, at last, released him: "the 
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's 
bosom." Nor could the rich man's wealth rescue him from the 
same fate: "the rich man also died, and was buried." But 
behold now the great, the awful change ! u In hell he lifted up 
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and" 
the late despised and afflicted "Lazarus in his bosom.*' In this 
agony of pain and distress, he cried to Abraham, his earthly 
father, begging that he would take pity on him. and send 
Lazarus to give him even the least degree of relief, that of 
dipping the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue, for his 
torment was intolerable. "Father Abraham, have mercy on 
me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in 
water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 
But Abraham said. Son, remember that thou in thy life time 
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but 
now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And besides all 
this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that 
they which would pass from hence to you, cannot: neither can 
they pass to us that would come from thence." Luke. xvi. 
24, &c. 

The miserable wretch, finding it impossible to procure any 
relief for himself, was desirous of preserving his thoughtless rela- 
tions from the like distress. "Then he said. I pray thee, there- 
fore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house: 
for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest 
they also come into this place of torment." Luke* xvi. 27, 28. 
This also was a petition that could not be granted. It is too 
late to hope for relief, when the soul is cast into the bottomless 
pit. They may learn, said Abraham, the certainty of the im- 
mortality of the soul, from the books of Moses and the prophets, 
if they will give themselves the trouble to peruse them atten- 
tively. To which the miserable object replied, that the books 
of Moses and the prophets had been ineffectual to him. and he 
feared would be so to his brethren. But if one actually arose 
from the dead, and appeared to them, they would certainly repent, 
and embrace those offers of salvation they had before slighted. 
"Nay, father Abraham : but if one went unto them from the 
dead, they will repent." But Abraham told him, that in this 
he was greatly mistaken, for that if they refused to believe the 
evidence of a future state, contained in the writings of Moses 
and the prophets, the testimony of a messenger from the dead 
would not be sufficient to convince them. "If they hear not 
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though 
one rose from the dead." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 259 

This truth, asserted by Abraham, has been abundantly proved 
by undeniable facts; from whence it has appeared, that those 
who will not be convinced by a standing revelation, will not be 
convinced, though one rose from the dead. These very Jews, 
to whom our Saviour spoke, were remarkable instances of this 
truth ; they were fully assured, that another Lazarus was, by the 
power of Christ, raised from the dead, after he had laid several 
days in the tomb: a fact which they were so far from being 
able to disprove, that they attempted to kill Lazarus; as if, by 
this wicked action, they could have destroyed his evidence. 
Nay, they still had a more lively proof, in the resurrection of 
Jesus himself, which they were so far from being able to deny, 
that they bribed the soldiers to spread that senseless tale, that 
his disciples came by night and stole him away. So true were 
Abraham's words, that they who believe not Moses and the 
prophets, which testify of Christ and his eternal redemption, 
would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 

There is not a more awakening and alarming example than 
this parable, through the whole gospel: it is drawn in such 
lively colors, that many, in all ages of the church, have con- 
sidered it not as a parable, but as a real history. But however 
this be, the important truths delivered in it are equally clear, 
and equally certain. They are designed to describe the differ- 
ence between this state and a future, between the children of 
this world and the children of light, the former having had their 
portion of happiness here; but the latter being reserved to a 
glorious one hereafter. 

Having thus reprimanded the Pharisees, he took occasion to 
speak of affronts and offences, described their evil nature, and 
their dreadful punishment. "It is impossible," said he, "but 
that offences will come: but wo unto him through whom they 
come. It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged 
about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should 
offend one of these little ones." Luke, xvii, 1, 2. That is, the 
children of God, the followers of the Lamb, must meet with dis- 
grace, reviling and persecution here; but wo unto those who 
revile and persecute them; they had better undergo the worst 
of temporary judgments than the awful one that shall ensue. 

He spake also against a quarrelsome temper in his servants, 
especially in the ministers and teachers of religion; prescribed 
a seasonable and prudent reprehension of the fault, accompa- 
nied with forgiveness on the part of the person injured, as the 
best means of disarming the temptation that may arise from 
thence. "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass 
against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And 
if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times 



260 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive 
him." Luke, xvii. 3, 4. 

It should be observed, that this discourse on forgiveness, 
uttered at a time when the Pharisees had just affronted him, by 
calling him a false teacher, sufficiently proves how truly he for- 
gave them all the personal injuries they had committed against 
him; and should be a powerful recommendation of that amiable 
virtue, the forgiveness of injuries. 

But however beautiful these discourses of our Saviour appear, 
when examined with attention, they seem to have staggered the 
faith of his disciples and followers. Perhaps they still imagined 
that he would shortly erect a temporal kingdom, and distribute 
among them the rewards they expected for their services. If 
so, they might well desire their master "to increase their faith;" 
as discourses like these had a very different tendency from what 
might naturally be expected from one who was going to estab- 
lish the throne of David, and extend his sceptre over all the 
kingdoms of the earth. But however this be, our Saviour told 
them, that if they had the smallest degree of true faith, it would 
be sufficient for overcoming all temptations, even those which 
seem as difficult to be conquered as the plucking up trees, and 
planting them in the ocean. "If ye have faith as a grain of 
mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, Be thou 
plucked up by the roots, and be thou planted in the sea, and it 
should obey you." Luke, xvii. 6. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Our Lord is applied to in behalf of poor Lazarus, — Cures ten persons 
of the Leprosy in Samaria, and restores Lazarus to life 

Soon after our blessed Saviour had finished these discourses, 
one of his friends, named Lazarus, fell sick at Bethany, a village 
about two miles from the countries beyond Jordan, where Jesus 
was now preaching the GospeL The sisters of Lazarus finding 
his sickness was of a dangerous kind, thought proper to send an 
account of it to Jesus; being firmly persuaded that he who had 
cured so many strangers, would readily come and give health to 
one whom he loved in so tender a manner. "Lord," said they, 
"behold he whom thou lovest is sick:" they did not add, Come 
down and heal him, make haste and save him from the grave: 
it was sufficient for them to relate their necessities to their Lord, 
who was both able and willing to help, them from their distress. 

"When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



261 



death." This declaration of the benevolent Jesus being carried 
to the sisters of Lazarus, must strangely surprise them, and exer- 
cise both theirs and his disciples' faith; since it is probable that 
before the messenger arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had expired. 
Soon after, Jesus positively assured his disciples that " Lazarus 
was dead." 

The Evangelist, in the beginning of this account, tells us, that 
Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus; and after that 
he had received the message, he abode two days in the same 
place where he was. His design in this might be to intimate 
that his lingering so long after the message came, did not pro- 
ceed from a want of concern for his friends, but happened 
according to the counsels of his own wisdom. For the length 
of time which Lazarus lay in the grave put his death beyond 
all possibility of doubt, removed every suspicion of fraud, and 
consequently afforded Jesus a fit opportunity of displaying the 
love he bore to Lazarus, as well as his own divine power, in his 
undoubted resurrection from the dead. His sisters, indeed, were 
by this means kept a while in painful anxiety, on account of 
their brothers life, and at last pierced by the sorrows of seeing 
him die; yet they must surely think themselves abundantly re- 
compensed by the evidence, according to the Gospel, from this 
astonishing miracle, as well as by the inexpressible surprise or 
joy they felt, when they again received their brother from the 
dead. 

Two days being thus expired, Jesus said to his disciples, " Let 
us go into Judea again." John, xi. 7. His disciples were as- 
tonished at this proposal, and the recollection of his late danger 
in that country, alarmed them: "Master," said they, "the Jews 
of late sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?" 
Wilt thou hazard thy life among those who desired nothing 
more than to find an opportunity of killing thee? "Jesus an- 
swered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man 
walk in the day, he stumbleth not because he seeth the light of 
this world: But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, 
because there is no light in him." John, xi. 9, 10. 

By this he intended to inform his disciples that those who 
lived by faith, and acted under the infallible influence of the 
divine Spirit, could not stumble; whereas, those who followed 
the directions of unenlightened nature, were liable to perpetual 
error. 

Jesus having removed their groundless apprehensions, and 
strengthened their faith, that he might clearly explain to them 
the cause of his going to Judea again, told them, " our friend 
Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of 
sleep." The disciples understanding his discourse in a literal 
sense, replied, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well:" his distem- 



262 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



per is abated, and he, in all probability, is recovering. It would 
be, therefore, highly unseasonable in us, to take two days' 
journey, only to awake him out of his sleep. Thus they discov- 
ered their fears, and hinted to their Master, that it would be far 
safer to continue where they were, than to take a hazardous 
journey into Judea. 

They were, however, mistaken; for the Evangelist informs 
us, that he " spake of his death, but they thought he had spoken 
of taking of rest in sleep." Jesus, therefore, to remove any 
doubt, said plainly to them, 44 Lazarus is dead. And I am glad 
for your sakes, that I was not there, (to the intent ye may be- 
lieve.") I am glad for your sakes, that I was not in Judea 
before he died; for had I been there, and restored him to his 
health, your faith in me, as the Messiah, must have wanted the 
great confirmation it shall now receive, by your beholding me 
raise him again from the dead. 

Having thus given his disciples a proof of his divine knowl- 
edge, and of the designs of Providence in the death of Laza- 
rus, our blessed Saviour added, 44 Nevertheless, let us go unto 
him." Thus Jesus, who could have raised Lazarus without 
opening his lips, or rising from his seat, leaves his place of retire- 
ment beyond Jordan, and takes a journey into Judea, where the 
Jews lately attempted to kill him; because his being present in 
person, and raising Lazarus again to life, before so many wit- 
nesses at Bethany where he died, and was so well known, 
would be the means of bringing the men of that place, as well 
as others, who should hear of it even in future ages, to prepare 
them for a resurrection unto eternal life: an admirable proof! as 
an emblem of which, he gave them this great miracle. 

Jesus having thus declared his resolution of returning into 
Judea, Thomas, conceiving nothing less than destruction from 
such a journey, yet unwilling to forsake his Master, said, 44 Let 
us also go, that we may die with him." Let us not forsake 
our Master in this dangerous journey, but let us accompany him 
into Judea, that if the Jews, whose inveteracy we are well ac- 
quainted with, should take away his life, we also may expire 
with him. 

The journey to Judea being thus resolved on, Jesus departed 
with his disciples, and in his way to Bethany passed through 
Samaria and Galilee. 44 And as he entered into a certain vil- 
lage, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar 
off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have 
mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go, 
show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that as 
they went, they were cleansed." Luke, xvii. 12, &c. 

Among these miserable objects, one of them was a native of 
the country, who, perceiving that his cure was completed, came 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



263 



back, praising God for the great mercy he had received. He 
had before kept at a distance from our Saviour, but being now 
sensible that he was entirely clean, he approached his benefac- 
tor, that all might have an opportunity of beholding the mira- 
cle, and fell on his face at his feet, thanking him, in the most 
humble manner, for his condescension in healing him of so ter- 
rible a disease. Jesus, in order to intimate that those who were 
enlightened with the knowledge of the truth ought, at least, to 
have shown as great sense of piety and gratitude as this Sa- 
maritan, asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are 
the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to 
God, save this stranger." Luke, xvii. 17. 

Jesus and his disciples now continued their journey towards 
Bethany, where he was informed by some of the inhabitants of 
that village, that Lazarus was not only dead, as he had foretold, 
but had now lain in the grave four days. The afflicted sisters 
were overwhelmed with sorrow; so that many of the Jews from 
Jerusalem came to comfort them concerning their brother. 

It seems the news of our Lord's coming had reached Bethany 
before he arrived at the village; for Martha, the sister of Laza- 
rus, being informed of his approach, went out, and met him; 
but Mary, who was of a more melancholy and contemplative 
disposition, sat still in the house. No sooner was she come into 
the presence of Jesus, than in an excess of grief she poured 
forth her complaints; "Lord," said she, "if thou hadst been 
here, my brother had not died." If thou hadst complied with 
the message we sent thee, I well know that thy interest with 
heaven had prevailed: my brother had been cured of his dis- 
ease, and delivered from the chambers of the grave. 

Martha, doubtless, entertained a high opinion of our Saviour's 
power; she believed that death did not dare to approach his 
presence; and, consequently, if Jesus had arrived at Bethany 
before her brother's dissolution, he had not fallen a victim to 
the king of terrors. But she imagined it was not in his power 
to heal the sick at a distance; though, at the same time, she 
seemed to have some dark and imperfect hopes that our blessed 
Lord would still do something for her. " But I know," said she, 
"that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will 
give it thee." She thought that Jesus could obtain whatsoever 
he desired by prayer; and therefore did not found her hopes 
on his power, but on the power of God, through his intercession. 
She doubtless knew that the great Redeemer of mankind had 
raised the daughter of Jairus, and the widow's son at Nain, 
from the dead; but seems to have considered her brother's resur- 
rection as much more difficult; probably, because he had been 
longer dead. 

But Jesus, who was willing to encourage this imperfect faith 

31 



264 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



of Martha, answered, " Thy brother shall rise again." As these 
words were delivered in an indefinite sense, with regard to time 
Martha understood them only as an argument of consolation, 
drawn from the general resurrection, and accordingly answered, 
" I know that he shall rise again at the resurrection, at the last 
day." She was firmly persuaded of that important article of 
the Christian faith, the resurrection of the dead: at which impor- 
tant hour she believed her brother would rise from the cham- 
bers of the dust. And here she seems to have terminated all 
her hopes, not thinking that the Son of God would call her 
brother from the sleep of death. Jesus, therefore, to instruct 
her in this great truth, replied, "I am the resurrection and the 
life." I am the author of the resurrection, the fountain and 
giver of that life they shall then receive; and therefore can, 
with the same ease, raise the dead now, as at the last day. " He 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest 
thou this?" To. which Martha answered, "Yea, Lord; I be- 
lieve that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should 
come into the world." I believe that thou art the true Messiah, 
so long promised by the prophets, and therefore believe that 
thou art capable of performing every instance of power that 
thou art pleased to claim. 

Martha now seemed to entertain some confused expectations 
of her brother's immediate resurrection; and leaving Jesus in 
the field, ran and called her sister, according to his order, being 
willing that both Mary and her companions should be witnesses 
of this stupendous miracle. 

Mary no sooner heard that Jesus was come, than she immedi- 
ately left her Jewish comforters, who only increased the weight 
of her grief, and flew to her Saviour. The Jews, who suspec- 
ted she was going to weep over the grave of her brother, fol- 
lowed her to that great Prophet who was going to remove all 
her sorrows. Thus the Jews, who came from Jerusalem to com- 
fort the two mournful sisters, were brought to the grave of 
Lazarus, and made witnesses of his resurrection. 

As soon as Mary approached the great Redeemer of mankind, 
she fell prostrate at his feet, and in a flood of tears poured out 
her complaint: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had 
not died." No wonder the compassionate Jesus was moved at 
so affecting a scene; on his side stood Martha, pouring forth a 
flood of tears; at his feet lay the affectionate Mary, weeping and 
lamenting her dear departed brother; while the Jews, who came 
to comfort the afflicted sisters, unable to confine their grief, 
joined the solemn mourning, and mixed their friendly tears, in 
witness of their love for the departed Lazarus, and in testimony 
to the justice of the sisters' grief, for the loss of so amiable, so 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



265 



deserving a brother. Jesus could not behold the affliction of 
these two sisters, and their friends, without having a share in it 
himself; his heart was melted at the mournful scene,, "he 
groaned in spirit, and was troubled." 

To remove the doubts and fears of these pious women, he 
asked them, where they had buried Lazarus; not that he was 
ignorant where the body of the deceased was laid: he who 
knew that he was dead, when so far distant from' him, and could 
raise him up by a single word, must know where his remains 
were deposited; to which they answered, "Lord, come and see." 
The Son of God, to prove that he was not only so, but a most 
compassionate man, and to show us that the tender affections of 
the human heart, when kept in due bounds, — that friendly sor- 
row, when not immoderate, and directed to proper ends, is con- 
sistent with the highest sanctity of the soul, joined in the general 
mourning. He wept, even at the time that he was going to 
give the most ample proof of his divinity. 

By his weeping, the Jews were convinced that he loyed Laz- 
arus exceedingly; but some of them interpreted this circum- 
stance to his disadvantage; for, according to their mean way of 
judging, they fancied he had suffered him to fall by the stroke 
of death, for no other reason in the world, but for want of 
power to rescue him. And thinking the miracle said to have 
been wrought on the blind man, at the feast of tabernacles, at 
least as difficult as the curing an acute distemper, they called 
the former in question, because the latter had been neglected. 
"Could not this man," said they, "which opened the eyes 
of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have 
died?" 

Our Lord, regardless of their question, but grieving for. the 
hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their infidelity, 
groaned again within himself, as he walked towards the sepul- 
chre of the dead. At his coming to the grave he said, " Take 
ye away the stone." To which Martha answered, " Lord, by 
this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days;" or, as 
the passage may be better rendered, hath lain in the grave four 
days. She meant to intimate, that her brother's resurrection was 
not now to be expected; but Jesus gave her a solemn reproof, to 
teach her that there was nothing impossible with God, and that 
the power of the Almighty is not to be circumscribed within 
the narrow bounds of human reason; "Said I not unto thee, 
that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of 
God?" i. e. Have but faith, and I will display before thee the 
power of Omnipotence. 

The objections of Martha being thus obviated, she, with the 
rest, waited the great event in silence; and, in pursuance of 
the command of the Son of God, took away the stone from the 



266 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



place where the dead was laid. Jesus had, on many occasions, 
publicly appealed to his own miracles as the proofs of his mis- 
sion, though he did not generally make a formal address to his 
Father, before he worked those miracles. But being now to 
raise Lazarus from the dead, he prayed for his resurrection, to 
convince the spectators that it could not be effected without an 
immediate interposition of the Divine Power. "Father,*' said 
he, "I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou 
hearest me always; but because of the people which stand by, 
I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." John, 
xi. 41, &c. I entertain no doubt of thy empowering me to do 
this miracle, and therefore did not pray for my own sake: I well 
knew that thou hearest me always. I prayed for the sake of 
the people, to convince them that thou lovest me, hast sent me, 
and art continually with me. 

After returning thanks to his Father for this opportunity of 
displaying his glory. "He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, 
come forth!" This loud and efficacious call of the Son of God 
awakened the dead; the breathless clay was instantly reanima- 
ted; and he who had lain four days in the chambers of the tomb, 
obeyed immediately the powerful sound. "And he that was 
dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes; and 
his face was bound about with a napkin: Jesus saith unto them, 
Loose him, and let him go." John, xi. 44. 

Such was the astonishing work wrought by the Son of God 
at Bethany; and in the resurrection of Lazarus, thus corrupted, 
and thus raised by the powerful call of Jesus, we have a striking 
emblem, and a glorious earnest, of the resurrection of our 
bodies from the grave, at the last day, when the same powerful 
mandate which spoke Lazarus again into being, shall collect the 
scattered particles of our bodies, and raise them to immortality. 

Such an extraordinary power, displayed before the face of a 
multitude, and near to Jerusalem, even overcame the prejudices 
of some of the most obstinate among them. Many believed that 
Jesus could be no other than the great Messiah, so long prom- 
ised: though others who still expected a temporal prince, and 
were therefore unwilling to acknowledge him for their Saviour, 
were filled with indignation, particularly the chief priests and. 
elders. But this miracle, as well as all the rest he had wrought in 
confirmation of his mission, was too evident to be denied ; and 
therefore, they pretended that his whole intention was to estab- 
lish a new sect in religion, which would endanger both their 
church and nation. " Then gathered the chief priests and the 
Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth 
many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe 
on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our 
place and nation." John xi. 47, &c. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



267 



The common people, astonished at his miracles, will, if we do 
not take care to prevent it, certainly set him up for the Messiah; 
and the Romans, under a pretence of a rebellion, will deprive us 
both of our liberty and religion. Accordingly, they came to a 
resolution to put him to death. This resolution was not, how- 
ever, unanimous; for Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and other 
disciples of our Saviour, then members of the council, urged the 
injustice of what they proposed to do, from the consideration of 
his miracles and innocence. But Caiphas, the high priest, from 
a principle of human policy, told them, that the nature of gov- 
ernment often required certain acts of injustice, in order to pro- 
cure the safety of the state. "Ye know nothing at all, nor con- 
sider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the 
people, and that the whole nation perish not." John, xi. 49, 50. 

The council having thus determined to put Jesus to death, de- 
liberated for the future only upon the best methods of effecting 
it; and, in all probability, agreed to issue a proclamation, prom- 
ising a reward to any person who would deliver him into their 
hands. For this reason our blessed Saviour did not now go up 
to Jerusalem, though we was within two miles of it; but went to 
Ephraim, a city on the borders of the wilderness, where he 
abode with his disciples, being unwilling to go too far into the 
country, because the passover, at which he was to suffer, was now 
at hand. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The great Prophet of Israel foretells the ruin of the Jewish State, 
and enforces many important Doctrines by parable. — He blesseth 
the Children, as emblems of the Heavenly and Christian temper 
and disposition* 

While the blessed Jesus remained in retirement on the bor- 
ders of the wilderness, he was desired by some of the Pharisees 
to inform them when the Messiah's kingdom would commence. 
Nor was their anxiety on that account a matter of surprise; for 
as they entertained very exalted notions of his coming in pomp 
and magnificence, it was natural for them to be very desirous of 
having his empire speedily erected. But our Saviour, to correct 
this mistaken notion, told them, that the Messiah's kingdom did 
not consist in any external form of government, erected in some 
particular country by the terror of arms, and desolation of war; 
but in the subjection of the minds of men, and in rendering 
them conformable to the laws of the Almighty, which was to 



268 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



be effected by a new dispensation of religion, and this dispensa- 
tion was already begun. It was, therefore, needless for them 
to seek in this or that place for the kingdom *of God. as it 
had been already preached among them by Christ and his apos- 
tles, and confirmed by innumerable miracles. "The kingdom 
of God," said he, " cometh not with observation. Neither shall 
they say, Lo here, or lo there; for behold, the kingdom of God 
is within you." Luke, xvii. 20, 21. 

Having thus addressed the Pharisees, he turned himself to his 
disciples, and in the hearing of all the people, prophesied the 
destruction of the Jewish state; whose constitution, both reli- 
gious and civil, was the chief difficulty that opposed the erec- 
tion of his kingdom. But because love and compassion were 
eminent parts of our Saviour's temper, he mentioned that 
dreadful catastrophe in such a manner as might tend to the re- 
formation and profit of his hearers. He informed them, that 
the prelude to this final destruction would be an universal dis- 
tress; when they should passionately wish for the personal pre- 
sence of the Messiah to comfort them, but would be denied 
their request. "The days will come, when ye shall desire to 
see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it." 
Luke, xvii. 22. He next cautioned them against those who 
should recommend different ways of escaping the awful catas- 
trophe, but are utterly unable: "And they shall say to you, See 
here, or see there; go not after them, nor follow them. For as 
the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven 
shineth into the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son 
of Man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, 
and be rejected of this generation." Luke, xvii. 23. &c. 

The coming of the Son of Man shall be sudden and unexpec- 
ted. He will come in his own strength, and with great power; 
he will throw down all opposition, destroy his enemies with 
swift destruction, and establish his religion and government 
upon the face of the earth, as suddenly as lightning darts from 
one part of the heaven to the other. But before these things 
come to pass, he must suffer many things, and be rejected of 
this generation. 

Notwithstanding this sudden destruction and calamity that 
was to overwhelm the Jews, he told them, their stupidity would 
be equal to that of the old world, at the time of the deluge, or 
that of Sodom, before the city was destroyed: "And as it was in 
the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of 
Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were 
given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark; 
and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also, as 
it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, 
they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



269 



Lot went out of Sodom, it rained lire and brimstone from hea- 
ven, and destroyed them all: even thus it shall be in the day 
when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he which shall 
be upon the house-top, and his stuff in the house, let him not 
come down to take it away; and he that is in the field, let him 
likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife." Luke, xvii. 
26, &c. 

A more proper example than that of Lot's wife could not 
have been produced: for if any of his hearers, through an im- 
moderate love of the world, should be prevailed on, in order to 
save their goods, after they were admonished from heaven of 
their danger, by the signs which prognosticated the destruction 
of Jerusalem; or if any of them, through want of faith, should 
think that the calamities predicted to fall on the nation would 
not either be so great or so sudden as he had declared, and did 
not use the precaution of a speedy flight; they might behold in 
Lot's wife, an example both of their sin and of their punishment. 
He added, that those who were anxiously desirous of preserving 
life, from an attachment to its pleasures and vanities, should lose 
it: whereas, those who were willing to lay down their lives in 
his cause, should preserve them eternally. " Whosoever shall 
seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his 
life, shall preserve it." Luke, xvii. 33. 

Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, our blessed 
Saviour spake the following parable, in order to excite them to 
a constant perseverance in prayer, and not to be so weary and 
faint in their minds, as to neglect, or wholly omit, this necessary 
duty. 

There was in a city, said the Saviour of the world, a judge, 
who, being governed by atheistical principles, had no regard to 
the precepts of religion, and being very powerful did not regard 
what was said of him by any man : so that all his decisions were 
influenced merely by passion or interest. In the same city was 
also a widow, who, having no friends to assist her, was absolutely 
unable to defend herself from injuries, or procure redress for 
any she had received. In this deplorable situation, she had re- 
course to the unjust judge, in order to obtain satisfaction for 
some oppressive wrong she had lately received; but the judge 
was so abandoned to pleasure, that he refused, for a time, to 
listen to her request; he would not give himself the trouble to 
examine her case, though the crying injustice pleaded so power- 
fully for this distressed widow. She was not, however, intimi- 
dated by his refusal; she incessantly importuned him, till, by 
repeated representations of her distress, she filled his mind with 
such displeasing ideas, that he was obliged to do her justice, 
merely to free himself from her importunity. " Though," said 
he to himself, 44 1 fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this 



270 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest, by her continual 
coming, she weary me." Luke, xviii. 4, 5. 

The sentiment conveyed by our blessed Saviour in this para- 
ble, is very beautiful. We hence learn that the cries of the 
afflicted will, by being incessantly repeated, make an impression 
even on the stony hearts of wicked men, who glory in their 
impiety, and laugh at all the precepts of justice, virtue, and 
religion; and, therefore, cannot fail of being regarded by the 
benevolent Father of the universe, who listens to the petitions 
of his faithful servants, and pours on their heads the choicest of 
his blessings. 

"Hear," said the blessed Jesus, "what the unjust judge saith; 
and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and 
night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you, that 
he will avenge them speedily." Luke, xviii. 6, &c. As if he 
had said, if this man, though destitute of the fear either of God 
or man, was thus prompted to espouse the cause of the widow; 
shall not a righteous God, the Father of his people, avenge on 
the wicked the many evils they have done unto them, though 
he bear long with them? — Certainly he will, and that in a most 
awful manner. 

Our blessed Saviour having thus enforced the duty of prayer, 
in this expressive parable, asked the following apposite question: 
" Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith 
on the earth?" As if he had said, notwithstanding all the mira- 
cles I have wrought, and the excellent doctrines I have deliv- 
ered, shall I find, at my second coming, that faith among the 
children of men there is reason to expect? Will not most of 
them be found to have abandoned the faith, and wantonly ask, 
"where is the promise of his coming?" 

The blessed Jesus next rebuked the self-righteous Pharisees. 
But as these particulars are better illustrated by their opposites, 
he placed the character of this species of men in opposition 
to those of the humble; describing the reception each class met 
with from the Almighty, in a parable of the Pharisee and 
Publican, who went up together to the temple, at the time when 
the sacrifice was offered, to direct their petitions to the God of 
their fathers. 

The Pharisee, having a high opinion of his own righteousness, 
went far into the court of the temple, that he might be as near 
the place of the divine residence as possible. Here he offered 
his prayer, giving God the praise of his supposed righteousness; 
and, had he been possessed of any, he would have acted proper- 
ly. "God," said he, "I thank thee that I am not as other men 
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I 
fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." Luke, 
xviii. 11, 12. 



PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN IN THE TEJIPLE 

iPage 271.] 




"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a 
Publican." — Luke, xviii. 10. 



LIFE OF CHRIST, 



273 



Having thus commended himself to God, he wrapped himself 
up in his own righteousness; and giving the poor Publican a 
scornful look, walked away, perhaps to transgress some of the 
weightier matters of the law; judgment, justice, and truth; and 
to devour the houses of distressed widows and helpless orphans. 
But how different was the behavior of the humble Publican! 
Impressed with a deep sense of his own unworthiness, he would 
not even enter the courts of the temple ; but stood afar off, and 
smote upon his breast, and in the bitterness of his soul, earnestly 
implored the mercy of Omnipotence. " And the Publican stand- 
ing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, 
but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner." Luke, xviii. 13. 

Specious as the Pharisee's behavior may seem, his prayer was 
an abomination to the Lord; while the poor Publican, who con- 
fessed his guilt, and implored mercy, was justified in the sight 
of God, rather than this arrogant boaster. 

This parable sufficiently indicates that all the sons of men 
stand in need of mercy. Both the strict Pharisee and the de- 
spised Publican, with the whole race of mankind, are sinners; 
and consequently all must implore pardon of their benevolent 
Creator. We must all ascend to the temple, and there pour 
fourth our prayers before the throne of grace; for there he has 
promised ever to be present, to grant the petitions of all who 
ask in sincerity and truth, through the Son of his love. 

These parables were spoken in the town of Ephraim: and 
during his continuance in that city, the Pharisees asked him, 
Whether he thought it lawful for a man to put away his wife 
for every cause? Our Saviour had twice before declared his 
opinion of this particular, once in Galilee, and once in Perea; 
it is therefore probable that the Pharisees were not ignorant of 
his sentiments, and that they asked that question then, to find 
an opportunity of incensing the people against him, well know- 
ing that the Israelites held the liberty which the law gave them 
of divorcing their wives, as one of their chief privileges. But 
however that be, Jesus was far from fearing the popular resent- 
ment, and accordingly declared the third time against arbitrary 
divorces. The Pharisees then asked him, whj they were com- 
manded by Moses to give a writing of divorcement, and to put 
her away? Insinuating, that Moses was so tender of their hap- 
piness, that he gave them liberty of putting away their wives, 
when they saw occasion. To which Jesus answered, "Because 
of the hardness of your hearts, Moses suffered you to put away 
your wives; but from the beginning it was not so." As unlim- 
ited divorces were not permitted in the state of innocence, so 
neither shall they be under the Gospel dispensation. " And I 
say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be 



274 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery. 
And whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth commit adul- 
tery. Matt. xix. 9. 

The disciples were greatly surprised at their Master's decision; 
and though they held their peace, while the Pharisees were pre- 
sent, yet they did not fail to ask him the reason on which he 
founded his determination, when they were returned home. 
"And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same 
matter: and he saith unto them, whosoever shall put away his 
wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And 
if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to 
another, she committeth adultery." Mark, x. 10, &c. 

The practice of unlimited divorces, which prevailed among 
the Jews, gave great encouragement to family quarrels, were 
very destructive of happiness, and hindered the education of 
their common offspring. Besides, it greatly tended to make 
their children lose that reverence for them which is due to 
parents, as it was hardly possible for the children to avoid en- 
gaging in the quarrel. 

Our Lord's prohibition, therefore, of these divorces is found- 
ed on the strongest reasons, and greatly tends to promote the 
welfare of society. 

Our Saviour having, in the course of his ministry, performed 
innumerable cures, in different parts of the country, several 
persons, thinking, perhaps, that his power would be as great in 
preventing as in removing distempers, brought their children to 
him, desiring that he would put his hands upon them and bless 
them. The disciples, however, mistaking the intention, were 
angry with the persons, and rebuked them for endeavoring to 
give this trouble to their Master. But Jesus no sooner saw it, 
than he was greatly displeased with his disciples, and ordered 
them not to hinder parents from bringing their children to him. 
"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for 
of such is the kingdom of God." Luke, xviii. 16. 

Such are those, in spiritual light, who are brought to a sense 
of their sins, and humbled for them in the sight of God. 



JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 

[Page 274.] 




LIFE OF CHRIST. 



277 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Our Lord departs from his retirement. — Declares the only way of 
salvation. — Shows the duty of improving the means of grace by 
the Parable of the Vineyard. — Prediction of his suffering, and con- 
tention of the Disciples about precedence in his kingdom. 

The period of our blessed Saviour's passion now approaching, 
he departed from Ephraim, and repaired, by the way of Jericho, 
towards Jerusalem: but before he arrived at Jericho, a ruler of 
the synagogue came running to him, and kneeling down before 
him, asked him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that 
I may have eternal life?" Matt. xix. 16. 

Though this young ruler pretended to pay great honor to our 
dear Redeemer, yet the whole was no more than a piece of 
raillery. For thcugh he styled him "good," yet he did not 
believe that he was sent from God, as sufficiently appears from 
his refusing to observe the counsel given him by Jesus: nor 
could his artful insinuations escape the piercing eye of the great 
Saviour of the world. He well knew his secret intentions, and 
beheld the inmost recesses of his soul: and accordingly rebuked 
him for his hypocritical address, before he answered his ques- 
tion. "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, 
that is God." Matt. xix. 17. But as he had desired the advice 
of our blessed Jesus, who never refused it to any of the sons of 
men, he readily answered his question, by telling him that he 
must observe all the moral precepts of the law; there being a 
necessary connexion between the duties of piety towards the 
x\lmighty, and of justice and temperance towards men; the lat- 
ter of which were much more difficult to counterfeit than the 
former. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no mur- 
der; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; 
Thou shalt not bear false witness; Honor thy father and thy 
mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The 
young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from 
my youth up: What lack I yet?" Matt. xix. 17, &c. 

These commandments, perhaps, he had obeyed in the vague 
sense put upon them by the doctors and interpreters of the law; 
and, therefore, the character he here gave of himself might be 
very just. For though he was far from being a person who 
feared God from his heart, he might have appeared, in the sight 
of men, as a person of a very fair character. And having main- 
tained that character, notwithstanding his great riches, he cer- 
tainlv deserved commendation; and therefore might be noticed 



278 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



by that benevolent person, who left the bosom of his Father, to 
redeem lost mankind. But he was, at the same time, very 
faulty, with regard to his love of sensual pleasures; a sin, which 
might have escaped even his own observation, though it could 
not escape the all-seeing eye of the Son of God. Our blessed 
Saviour, therefore, willing to make him sensible of his secret 
desire of possessing the riches of this world, told him, that if 
he aimed at pefection, he should distribute his possessions among 
the poor and indigent, and become his disciple. " If thou wilt 
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and 
thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come and follow me." 

His heart being set upon his possessions, he had no inclina- 
tion to a religion that enjoined self-denial, and parting with 
our darling sins. "But when the young man heard that saying, 
he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions/' Matt, 
xix. 22. 

This melancholy instance of the pernicious influence of riches 
over the minds of the children of men, induced our blessed 
Saviour, to caution his disciples against fixing their minds on 
things of such frightful tendency, by showing how very difficult 
it was for a rich man to procure a habitation in the regions of 
eternal happiness. "Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man 
shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I 
say unto you, It is easier for a camel" (i. e. a cable, or large 
rope) "to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man 
to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard 
it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be 
saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men 
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt. 
xix. 23, &c. 

If man be not assisted by the grace of God, it will be im- 
possible for him to obtain the happy rewards of the kingdom 
of heaven: but, by the assistance of grace, which the Almighty 
never refuses to those who seek it with their whole heart, it is 
very possible. 

This answer of the blessed Jesus was, however, far from satis- 
fying his disciples, who had, doubtless, often reflected with plea- 
sure on the high posts they were to enjoy in their Master's 
kingdom. Peter seems particularly to have been disappointed: 
and therefore addressed his Master, in the name of the rest, 
begging him to remember that his apostles had actually done 
what the young man had refused. They had abandoned their 
relations, their friends, their possessions, and their employments, 
on his account: and therefore desired to know what reward 
they were to expect for these instances of their obedience? To 
which Jesus replied, that they should not fail of a reward, even 
in this life; for immediately after his resurrection, when he as- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



279 



cended to his Father, and entered on his mediatorial office, they 
should be advanced to the honor of judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel; that is, of ruling the church of Christ, which they 
were to plant in different parts of the earth. "Verily, I say 
unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, 
when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye 
also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel." Matt. xix. 28. 

Having given this answer to Peter, he next mentioned the 
rewards his other disciples should receive, both in this world 
and in that which is to come. They, said he, who have forsaken t- 
all for my sake, shall be no losers in the end: their benevolent 
Father who intends to give them possessions in the heavenly 
Canaan, will not fail to support them, during their long and 
painful journey to that happy country; and raise them up friends 
who shall assist them with those necessaries they might have 
expected from their relations, had they not left them for my 
sake. Divine Providence will take care they have every thing 
valuable that can be given them by their relations, or they 
could desire from large possessions. They shall, indeed, be fed 
with the bread of sorrow, but this shall produce joys to which 
all the earthly pleasures bear no proportion; and, in the end, 
obtain everlasting life. They shall leave this vale of tears, 
with all its pains and sorrows behind them, and fly to the bosom 
of their Almighty Father, the fountain of life and joy, where 
they shall be infinitely rewarded for all the sufferings they have 
undergone in this world. 

Things shall then be reversed, and those who have been re- 
viled and contemned on earth, for the sake of the gospel, shall 
be exalted to honor, glory and immortality: while the others 
shall be consigned to eternal infamy. " But many that are first 
shall be last, and the last shall be first." Matt. xix. 30. 

These words seem also to have been spoken to keep the dis- 
ciples humble; for in all probability they at first understood 
the promise of their sitting on twelve thrones, in a natural 
sense: as they were ready to construe every expression to a tem- 
poral kingdom, which they still expected their Master would 
erect upon earth. Our blessed Saviour, therefore, to remove 
all thoughts they might entertain of this kind, told them that 
though he had described the rewards they were to expect for 
the ready obedience they had shown to his commands, and the 
pains they were to take in propagating the gospel among the 
children of men ; yet those rewards were spiritual, and not con- 
fined to the Jews alone, but extended also to the Gentiles, who 
in point of time, should excel the Jews, and universally embrace 
the gospel, before that nation was converted. 

To excite their ardent pressing forward in faith and good 



280 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



works, our Lord relates the parable of the householder, who. 
at different hours of the day, hired laborers to work in his vine- 
yard. "The kingdom of heaven," says our blessed Saviour, 
w is like unto a man that is a householder, which went early in 
the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard: And when he 
had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them 
into his vineyard. And he went out, about the third hour, and 
saw others standing idle in the market place, and said unto them, 
Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give 
you. And they went their way. Again he went out, about the 
sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh 
hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto 
them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, 
Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also 
into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 
So, when even was come, the lord of the vineyard said unto his 
steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning 
from the last unto the first. And when they came that were 
hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a 
penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they 
should have received more: and they likewise received every 
man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured 
against the good man of the house, saying, These last have 
wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, 
which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he an- 
swered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst 
thou not agree with me for a penny? take that thine is, and go 
thy way; I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not 
lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye 
evil because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first 
last: for many be called, but few chosen." Matt. xx. 1,2, 3, &c. 

Such is the parable of the householder, as delivered by our 
Saviour: and, from the applications he has made of it, it will not 
be difficult to interpret it. The dispensation of religion which 
God gave to mankind, in different parts of the world, are repre- 
sented by the vineyard. The Jews, who were early members 
of the true church, and obliged to obey the law of Moses, are 
the laborers which the householder hired early in the morning. 
The Gentiles, who were converted at several times, by the vari- 
ous interpositions of Providence, to the knowledge and worship 
of the true God, are the laborers hired at the third, sixth, and 
ninth hours. And the invitation given at the eleventh hour, 
implies the calling of persons in the eve of life, to the knowl- 
edge of the gospel. The law of Moses was a heavy yoke; and 
therefore the obedience to its precepts was very elegantly rep- 
resented by bearing the heat and burden of the whole day. 
But the proselyted Gentiles, paid obedience only to some par- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



281 



ticular precepts of the law; bore but part of its weight; and 
were therefore represented by those who were hired at the third, 
sixth, and ninth hours: while those heathens who regulated their 
conduct by the law of nature only, and esteemed the works of 
justice, piety, temperance, and charity, as their whole duty, are 
beautifully represented as laboring only one hour in the cool of 
the evening. 

When the evening was come, and each laborer was to receive 
his wages, they were all placed upon an equal footing; these 
rewards being the privileges and advantages of the Gospel. 
The Jews, who had borne the grievous yoke of the Mosaic cere- 
monies, murmured when they found the Gentiles were admitted 
to its privileges, without being subject to their ceremonial 
worship. But we must not urge the circumstance of the reward 
so far as to fancy that either Jews or Gentiles merited the bless- 
ings of the Gospel, by their having labored faithfully in the 
vineyard, or having behaved well under their several dispensa- 
tions. 

The glorious Gospel, with all its blessings, was bestowed 
entirely by the free grace of God, and without any thing in men 
to merit it; besides, it was offered promiscuously to all, whether 
good or bad, and embraced by persons of all characters. The 
conclusion of the parable deserves our utmost attention; we 
should meditate upon it, and take care to make our calling and 
election sure. 

After Jesus had finished these discourses, he continued his 
journey towards Jerusalem, where the chief priests and elders, 
soon after the resurrection of Lazarus, issued a proclamation, 
promising a reward to any one who should apprehend him. In 
all probability, this was the reason why the disciples were aston- 
ished at the alacrity of our Lord during this journey, while they 
themselves followed him trembling. Jesus, therefore, thought 
proper to repeat the prophecies concerning his sufferings, in 
order to show his disciples that they were entirely voluntary; 
adding, that though the Jews should put him to death, yet, 
instead of weakening^ it should increase their faith, especially 
as he would rise again, the third day, from the dead. "Behold 
we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the 
prophets concerning the Son of Man, shall be accomplished: 
For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked 
and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge 
him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise 
again." Luke, xviii. 32, 33. 

As this prediction manifestly tended to the confirmation of 
the ancient prophecies, it must have given the greatest encour- 
agement to his disciples, had they understood and applied it in a 
proper manner: but they were so ignorant in the Scriptures. 



282 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



they had no idea of what he meant. "And they understood 
none of these things: and this saying was hid from them; neither 
knew they the things which were spoken." 

The sons of Zehedee were so ignorant, that they thought their 
Master, by his telling them he would rise again from the dead r 
meant that he would then erect his empire, and accordingly 
begged that he would confer on them the chief posts in his king- 
dom; which they expressed by desiring to be seated, the "one 
on his right hand, and the other on his left," in allusion to his 
placing the twelve apostles upon twelve thrones, judging the 
tribes of Israel. 

This race ever since our Saviour's transfiguration, had con- 
ceived very high notions of his kingdom, and possibly of their 
own merit also, because they had been permitted to behold that 
miracle. But Jesus told them they were ignorant of the nature 
of the honor they requested ; and since they desired to share with 
him in glory, asked them if they were willing to share with him 
also in his sufferings. "Ye know not what ye ask; are ye able 
to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with 
the baptism that I am baptized with?" Matt. xx. 22. 

The two disciples ravished with the prospect of the dignity 
they were aspiring after, replied, without hesitation, that they 
were both able and willing to share any hardship their Master 
might meet with, in the way to the kingdom. To which he 
answered that they should certainly share with him his troubles 
and afflictions; but that they had asked a favor which was not 
his to give. " Ye shall drink, indeed, of my cup, and be bap- 
tized with the baptizm I am baptized with; but to sit on my 
right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall 
be given unto them for whom it is prepared by my Father." 
Matt. xx. 23. 

This ambitious request of the two brothers raised the indigna- 
tion of the rest of the disciples, who, thinking themselves equally 
deserving the principal posts in the Messiah's kingdom, were 
highly offended at the arrogance of the sons of Zebedee. Jesus, 
therefore, in order to restore harmony among his disciples, told 
them that his kingdom was very different from those of the pre- 
sent world, and the greatness of his disciples did not, like that 
of secular princes, consist in reigning over others in an absolute 
and despotic manner. "Ye know, that the princes of the Gen- 
tiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exer- 
cise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; 
but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minis- 
ter; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your 
servant: even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered 
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." 
Matt. xx. 25, &c. Ye know that rank and precedence denote 



283 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



merit of character here: but Christian greatness and spiritual 
precedence consist in humility, of which Christ your Saviour 
was made an eminent pattern. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The benevolent Saviour restores sight to the Blind.— Kindly regards 
Zaccheus the Publican. — Delivers the Parable of the Servants en- 
trusted with their Lord's money. — Accepts the kind offices of Mary, 
Makes a public entry into Jerusalem. 

Jesus, with his disciples, and the multitude that accompanied 
him, were now arrived at Jericho, a famous city of Palestine, 
and the second in the kingdom. Near this town, Jesus cured 
two blind men, who sat by the road begging, and expressed their 
belief in him as the Messiah. "And as they departed from 
Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And behold, two 
blind men, sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus 
passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou 
Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they 
should hold their peace; but they cried the more, saying, Have 
mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David." Matt. xx. 29, &c. 

This importunate request had its desired effect on the Son of 
God. He stood still, and called them to him, that by their 
manner of walking, spectators might be convinced they were 
really blind. As soon as they approached him, he asked them, 
What they requested with such earnestness? To which the 
beggars answered, That they might receive their sight. " What 
will ye that I shall do unto you?" They say, "Lord, that our 
eyes may be opened." This request was not made in Vain; 
their compassionate Saviour touched their eyes, and immedi- 
ately they received sight, and followed him, glorifying and 
praising God. 

After conferring sight on these beggars, Zaccheus, chief of 
the Publicans, having often heard the fame of our Saviour's 
miracles, was desirous of seeing his person; but the lowness Of 
his stature preventing him from satisfying his curiosity, "he ran 
before, and climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, for he was 
to pass that way." As Jesus approached the place where he 
was, "he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, 
make haste, and come down^ for to-day I must abide at thy 
house." Luke, xix. 5. 

The Publican expressed his joy at our Lord's condescending 
to visit him, took him to his house, and showed him all the marks 

33 



284 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



of civility in his power. But the people, when they saw he was 
going to the house of a Publican, condemned his conduct, as not 
conformable to the character of a prophet. Zaccheus seems to 
have heard these unjust reflections; and, therefore, was willing 
to justify himself, before Jesus and his attendants. "And Zac- 
cheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of 
my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing 
from any man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold. And 
Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, 
forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham." Luke, xix. 8, &c. 

Our Saviour, further to convince the people that the design 
of his mission was to seek and to restore life and salvation to 
lost and perishing sinners, adds, "The Son of Man is come to 
seek and to save that which was lost." 

While Jesus continued in the house of Zaccheus the Publican, 
he spake a parable to his followers, who supposed, at his arrival 
in the royal city, he would erect the long-expected kingdom of 
the Messiah. "A certain nobleman," said he, "went into a far 
country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And 
he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and 
said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, 
and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this 
man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was 
returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded 
these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the 
money, that he might know how much every man had gained 
by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath 
gained ten pounds. And he said unto him. Well, thou good 
servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have 
thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, 
Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said, like- 
wise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, 
saying, Lord, behold here is thy pound, which I have kept laid 
up in a napkin; for I feared thee, because thou art an austere 
man: thou takest up that thou laidst not down, and reapest that 
thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own 
mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest 
that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, 
and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore, then, gavest not 
thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have 
required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that 
stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that 
hath ten pounds, (and they said unto him, Lord, he hmm ten 
pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath 
shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath 
shall be taken away from him. But those, mine enemies, which 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



285 



would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay 
them before me." Luke, xix. 12, &c. 

After speaking this parable, Jesus left the house of Zaccheus 
the Publican, and continued his journey towards Jerusalem, 
where he proposed to celebrate the passover: he was earnestly 
expected by the people, who came up to purify themselves, and 
who began to doubt whether he would venture to come to the 
feast. This delay, however, was occasioned by the proclama- 
tion issued by the chief priests, promising a reward to any who 
would discover the place of his retirement. "Now both the 
chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that 
if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they 
might take him." John, xi. 57. 

Six days before the passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, and 
repaired to the house of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the 
dead. "There they made him a supper, and Martha served: 
but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, 
and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her 
hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 
Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, 
which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for 
three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, 
not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and 
had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, 
Let her alone; against the day of my burying hath she kept 
this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have 
not always." John, xii. 2, &c. 

As Bethany was not above two miles from Jerusalem, the 
news of his arrival was soon spread through the capital, and 
great numbers of the citizens came to see Lazarus, who had 
been raised from the dead, together with the great prophet, who 
had wrought so stupendous a miracle, and many of them were 
convinced both of the resurrection of the former, and the divin- 
ity of the latter; but the news of their conversion, together with 
the reason of it, being currently reported in Jerusalem, the chief 
priests were soon sensible of the weight so great a miracle must 
have on the minds of the people; and therefore determined, if 
possible, to put both Jesus and Lazarus to death. 

Our blessed Lord, though he knew the design of the Jews 
upon him, also knew that it became him to fulfill all righteous- 
ness; and was so far from declining to visit Jerusalem, that he 
even entered it in a public manner. When they "were come 
to Bethphage unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two 
disciples, saying unto them, Go unto the village over against 
you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with 
her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man 



286 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



say ought unto you, ye shall say, the Lord hath need of them; 
and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it 
might he fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying. 
Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, 
meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 
And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and 
brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and 
they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their 
garments in the way: others cut down branches from the trees, 
and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went 
before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, 
Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusa- 
lem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the mul- 
titude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee." 
Matt. xxi. 1 — 3, &c. 

The prodigious multitude that now accompanied Jesus filled 
the Pharisees and great men with malice and envy, because 
every method they had taken to hinder the people from follow- 
ing Jesus had proved ineffectual. "The Pharisees therefore 
said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? 
Behold, the world is gone after him." John, xii. 19. 

But when our blessed Saviour drew near the city of Jerusa- 
lem, surrounded by the rejoicing multitude, notwithstanding the 
many affronts he had there received, he beheld the city, and with 
a divine generosity and benevolence, which nothing can ea x ual, 
wept over it, and, in the most pathetic manner, lamented the ca- 
lamities which he foresaw were coming upon it, because its in- 
habitants were ignorant of the time of their visitation. "If," 
said he, "thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid 
from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine 
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, 
and keep thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with 
the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave 
in thee one stone upon another: because thou knowest not the 
time of thy visitation." Luke, xix. 42, &c. 

Behold here, ye wandering mortals, behold an example of 
generosity infinitely superior to any furnished by the heathen 
world! An example highly worthy for them to imitate and 
admire ! 

When Jesus, surrounded by the multitude, entered Jerusalem, 
the whole city was moved on account of the prodigious con- 
course of people that accompanied him, and their continual ac- 
clamations. Jesus rode immediately to the temple; but it being 
evening, he soon left the city, to the great discouragement of 
the people, who expected he was immediately to have taken 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 287 

into his hands the reins of government. " And Jesus entered 
into Jerusalem, and into the temple ; and when he had looked 
round about upon all things, and now the even-tide was come, 
he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." Mark, xi. 11. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Jesus pronounces a curse upon the Fig-tree. — Expels the profaners 
of the Temple* — Asserts his divine authority, and delivers two 
Parables. 

At the earliest dawn our blessed Saviour left Bethany to 
visit again the capital of Judea. And as he pursued his journey, 
he saw, at a distance, a fig-tree, which, from its fullness of 
leaves, promised abundance of fruit. This inviting object in- 
duced him to approach it, in expectation of finding figs, for he 
was hungry, and the season for gathering them was not yet ar- 
rived; but on his coming to the tree, he found it to be really 
barren: upon which the blessed Jesus said to it, "Let no fruit 
grow on thee henceforward for ever." Matt. xxi. 19. 

Being disappointed in finding fruit on the fig-tree, our blessed 
Saviour pursued his journey to Jerusalem; and, on his arrival, 
went straightway to the temple, the outer court of which he 
found full of merchandise. A sight like this vexed his meek 
and righteous soul, so that he drove them all out of the temple, 
overturned the tables of the money changers, and the seats of 
them that sold doves, and would not suffer any vessel to be car- 
ried through the temple, "saying unto them, It is written, My 
house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of 
thieves." Luke, xix. 46. 

Having dispersed this venal tribe, the people brought unto 
him the blind, the lame, and the diseased, who were all healed 
by the Son of God; so that the very children, when they saw 
the many miraculous cures he performed, proclaimed him to be 
the great Son of David, the long expected Messiah. 

Such behavior not a little incensed the Pharisees: but they 
feared the people, and therefore only asked him, if he heard 
what the children said? insinuating, that he ought to rebuke 
them, and not suffer them thus to load him with the highest 
praises. But Jesus, instead of giving a direct answer to their 
question, repeated a passage out of the eighth Psalm. "Have 
ye never read," said the blessed Jesus, "Out of the mouths of 
babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength?" Giving 



288 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



them to understand, that the meanest of God's works have been 
made instrumental in spreading his praise. 

The evening being now come, Jesus, with his disciples, left 
the city, tuid retired to Bethany, where his benevolent miracle, 
in raising Lazarus from the dead, had procured him many friends, 
among whom he was always in safety. The next morning, as 
they were returning to Jerusalem, the disciples were astonished 
at beholding the fig-tree that had been, but the morning before, 
declared barren, "dried up from the roots;" they had, in all 
probability, forgotten what our Saviour had said to this fig-tree, 
till its dry and withered aspect brought it again to their memory. 
Peter, on seeing this astonishing phenomenon, said unto Jesus, 
"Master, behold the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered 
away!" To which Jesus answered that whoever had faith in 
the Almighty, or thoroughly believed in his miracles, should be 
able to do much greater things than the withering of the fig-tree. 
"And Jesus answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God. 
For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this 
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and 
shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things 
which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he 
saith." Mark, xi. 22, 23. 

Our Lord added, that whatsoever they should ask by faith, 
they should receive; and concluded by giving them directions 
concerning prayer, which was necessary to increase the faith he 
mentioned. " And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have 
aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may 
forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither 
will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." 
Mark, xi. 25, 26. 

During the time the blessed Jesus remained in the temple, 
certain proselyted Greeks, who came up to worship at Jerusa- 
lem, desired to see him, having long cherished expectations of 
beholding the promised Messiah. Accordingly, they applied to 
Philip, a native of Bethsaida, who mentioned it to Andrew, and 
he told it to Jesus. Upon which our blessed Saviour told his 
disciples, that he should soon be honored with the conversion of 
the Gentiles: "The hour is come," said he, "that the Son of Man 
should be glorified." But declared, that before this glorious 
event happened, he must suffer death; illustrating the necessity 
there was of his dying, by the similitude of casting grain into 
the earth. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of 
wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it 
die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John, xii. 24. Adding, that 
since it was absolutely necessary for him, their Lord and Master, 
to suffer the pains of death before he ascended the throne of his 
glory; so they, as his followers, must also expect to be persecuted 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



289 



and spitefully used for his name's sake ; but if they persevered, 
and even resolved to lose their lives in his service, he would 
reward their constancy with a crown of glory. At the same 
time he intimated, that the strangers, if their desire of conversing 
with him proceeded from a hope of obtaining from him temporal 
preferments, would find themselves sadly disappointed. "If any 
man serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there shall 
also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father 
honor." Jo/m, xii. 26. 

Our blessed Lord was now so affected, that he uttered, in a 
very pathetic manner, his grief, and addressed his heavenly Fa- 
ther for succor in his distress. "Now is my soul troubled: and 
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this 
cause came I unto this hour." John, xii. 27. 

This should teach us, that prayer is the only method of easing 
the mind overwhelmed with distress: but at the same time to be 
always resigned to the divine will; for though the weakness of 
human nature may shrink when persecution or sufferings of any 
kind appear, yet, by reflecting on the wisdom, goodness and 
power of God to deliver us, we ought to support every trial, how- 
ever severe, with patience, as he doubtless purposes some happy 
end by these afflictions. 

Our blessed Lord having made a short prayer to his Father, 
begged him to demonstrate the truth of his mission by some 
token which could not be resisted. "Father, glorify thy 
name." Nor had he hardly uttered these words, before he was 
answered by an audible voice from heaven, "I have both glori- 
fied it, and will glorify it again." The miracles thou hast 
already performed have glorified my name; and I will still con- 
tinue to glorify it, by other miracles to be wrought before the 
sons of men. 

This voice was evidently preternatural, resembling thunder 
in loudness, but sufficiently articulate to be understood by those 
who heard our blessed Saviour pray to his heavenly Father. 
And Jesus told his disciples that it was not given for his sake, 
but to confirm them in the faith of his mission. " This voice," 
said he, " came not because of me, but for your sakes." It came 
to confirm what I have told you relating to my sufferings, death, 
resurrection, and the conversion of the Gentile world to the 
Christian religion. 

Accordingly, he communicated this comfortable reflection to 
his disciples; telling them that the time was at hand, when the 
kingdom of Satan should be destroyed, and that of the Messiah 
exalted. "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the 
prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me. John, xii. 31, &c. 

The people, not understanding the force of this affirmation, 



290 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



replied, "We have heard, out of the law, that Christ ahideth for 
ever: and how sayest thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up?" 
John, xii. 34. Our Lord, in answer, told them, that they should 
soon be deprived of his presence and miracles; and, therefore, 
they would do well to listen attentively to his precepts, firmly 
believe the doctrines he delivered, and wisely improve them to 
their eternal advantage; for otherwise they would be soon over- 
taken with spiritual blindness, and rendered incapable of inherit- 
ing the promises of the Gospel. That while they enjoyed the 
benefit of his preaching and miracles, which sufficiently proved 
the truth of his mission from the Most High, they should believe 
on him: for by that means alone they could become the children 
of God. "Yet a little while is the light with you; for he that 
walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye 
have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of 
light." John, xii. 35, &c. 

Having thus addressed the multitude he retired privately. 
But notwithstanding the many miracles our great Redeemer 
had wrought in presence of these perverse and stiff-necked peo- 
ple, the generality of them refused to own him for the Messiah; 
being filled with the vain expectations of a temporal prince, who 
was to rule over all the kingdoms of the earth, and place his 
throne in Jerusalem. Some, indeed, even of the rulers, believed 
on him, though, they thought it prudent to conceal their faith, 
lest they should, like the blind man, be excommunicated, or put 
out of the synagogue; valuing the good opinion of men above 
the approbation of the Almighty. 

Nevertheless, to inspire such as believed on him with cour- 
age, he cried in the temple, "He that believeth on me, believ- 
eth not on me, but on him that sent me." John, xii. 44. He 
that acknowledges the divinity of my mission, acknowledges 
the power and grace of God, on whose special errand I am thus 
sent. Adding, he that seeth the miracles I perform, seeth the 
operations of that Omnipotent Power by which I act. I am the 
Sun of righteousness, whose beams dispel the darkness of igno- 
rance in which the sons of men are involved, and am come to 
deliver all who believe on me out of that palpable darkness. 
You must not, however, expect, that I will at present execute 
my judgment upon those who refuse to embrace the doctrines 
of the gospel; for I am not come to condemn and punish, but 
to save the world, and consequently to try every gentle and 
winning method to reclaim the wicked from the error of their 
ways, and turn their feet into the paths of life and salvation. 
They shall not, however, escape unpunished, who neglect the 
instructions and offers of salvation now made to them; for the 
doctrines I have preached shall bear witness against them at the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



291 



awful tribunal of the last clay; and as it has aggravated their sin, 
so shall it then heighten their punishment. 

While Jesus was thus preaching in the temple, a deputation 
of priests and elders was sent from the supreme council, to ask 
him concerning the nature of the authority by which he acted, 
whether it was a prophet, priest, or king, as no other person had 
a right to make any alterations, either in church or state? And 
if he laid claim to either of those characters, from whom he re- 
ceived it? But our blessed Saviour, instead of giving a direct 
answer to the questions of the Pharisees, asked them another; 
promising, if they resolved his question, he would also answer 
theirs. " I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I 
in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" 
Matt. xxi. 24, &c. 

This question puzzled the priests. They considered, on the 
one hand, that if it was from God, it would oblige them to ac- 
knowledge the authority of Jesus, John having, more than 
once, publicly declared him to be the Messiah; and on the 
other, if they peremptorily denied the authority of John, they 
would be in danger of being stoned by the people, who, in gen- 
eral, considered him as a prophet. They, therefore, thought it 
the most eligible method to answer, that they could not tell 
from whence John's baptism was. 

Thus, by declining to answer the question asked them by 
Jesus, they left him at liberty to decline giving the council the 
satisfaction they had sent to demand. At the same time they 
plainly confessed, that they were unable to pass any opinion on 
John the Baptist, notwithstanding he claimed the character of 
a messenger from God, and they had sent to examine his pre- 
tensions. This was in effect, to acknowledge that they were 
incapable of judging of any prophet whatsoever. Well, there- 
fore, might the blessed Jesus say, " Neither tell I you by what 
authority I do these things." You have no right to ask, since 
you have confessed you are unable to judge; and, therefore, I 
shall not satisfy your inquiry. 

But because this deputation had said, that they were igno- 
rant from whence the baptism of John was, our blessed Saviour 
sharply rebuked them, conveying his reproof in the parable of 
the two sons commanded to work in their father's vineyard, 
and by asking their opinion of the two, made them condemn 
themselves. 

"A certain man," said he, "had two sons, and he came to 
the first and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard." But 
this ungracious youth very roughly answered the kind command 
of his father, and without the least preface, or appellation of 
respect, answered, " I will not." However, after reflecting on 

34 



292 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the impropriety and indecency of such behavior to his kind and 
indulgent father, he repented of what he had done, and went to 
work in the vineyard. The father having met with so sharp a 
reply from the former son, had recourse to the other, and in the 
same manner ordered him to work that day in his vineyard. 

This son was very different from the former, and, in a very 
dutiful manner, said, "I go sir." But notwithstanding this seem- 
ing obedience, he delayed to do as his father desired; he did 
not go to work in the vineyard. The temper and behavior of 
this second son were exactly conformable to that of the Phari- 
sees. They gave the Almighty the most honorable titles and 
professed the utmost zeal for his service, in their prayers and 
praises; but at the same time refused to do any part of the work 
that he enjoined them. In the character of the other son, the 
disposition of the Publicans and harlots is well described. They 
neither professed or promised to do the will of their Creator; 
but when they came to reflect seriously on their conduct, and 
the offers of mercy which were so kindly made them, they sub- 
mitted to our Saviour, and, in consequence of their faith, amen- 
ded their lives. 

Having thus finished the parables, our Lord asked the Phari- 
sees, "Whether of them twain did the will of his father ? They 
say unto him, The first." They did not immediately perceive, 
that by this answer they condemned themselves, till our Saviour 
made a just application of the parable, in this sharp but just 
rebuke, "Verily I say unto you, that the Publicans and the 
harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John 
came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him 
not," nor entered into your Father's vineyard, though, like the 
second son, you promised in the most fair and candid manner; 
" but the Publicans and harlots believed him," repented of their 
former disobedience, and entered into the vineyard. 

The blessed Jesus did not only rebuke them for rejecting the 
preaching of the Baptist, but represented the crime of the nation, 
in rejecting all the prophets which had been sent since they 
became a nation; among the rest, the only begotten Son of the 
Most High; warning them at the same time, of their danger, and 
the punishment that would inevitably ensue, if they continued 
in their rebellion. The outward economy of religion, in which 
they gloried, would be taken from them; their relation to God, 
as his people, cancelled; and the national constitution destroyed: 
but because these topics were extremely disagreeable he deliv- 
ered them under the veil of the following parable: " There was," 
said he, " a certain householder which planted a vineyard, and 
hedged it round about, and digged a wine press in it, and built 
a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far 
countrv." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



293 



The comparison of the church to a vineyard is frequent in the 
sacred Scripture, hut this particular parable, for the fuller con- 
viction of the Jews, is expressly taken from the fifth chapter of 
the prophet Isaiah, with which they could not fail of being well 
acquainted, nor ignorant of its meaning, as the prophet at the 
end of it adds, " The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of 
Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked 
for judgment, but behold oppression: for righteousness, but 
behold a cry." Our Saviour, therefore, continued the meta- 
phor, telling them, " that when the time of the fruit drew near, 
he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive 
the fruits of it. And the husdandmen took his servants, and 
beat one, and killed another, and stoned another." The Al- 
mighty sent the prophets to exhort the Jews to entertain just 
sentiments of religion, and tread the paths of virtue; but the 
Jews, irritated at the prophets for the freedom they used in 
reproving their sins, persecuted and slew them with unrelenting 
fury. 

Their wickedness, however, in killing these messengers, did 
not instantly provoke the Almighty to pour down his vengeance 
upon them; he sent more prophets to exhort and reclaim them, 
but they met with no better fate than the former. His mercy, 
however, still continued, and that no means might be left untried, 
he sent unto them his own Son, whose authority being clearly 
established by undeniable miracles, ought to have been acknowl- 
edged cheerfully by these wicked men; but how different was 
the consequence? "When the husbandmen saw the Son they 
said among themselves, This is the heir, come, let us kill him, 
and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and 
cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord 
therefore, of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those 
husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy 
those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other hus- 
bandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons." 
Matt. xxi. 38, &c. 

Shocked at this awful representation, the Pharisees exclaimed, 
and said, "God forbid;" surely these husbandmen will not pro- 
ceed to such desperate iniquity; surely the vineyard will not thus 
be taken from them. But to confirm the truth of this, our 
Saviour added a remarkable prophecy of himself, and his rejec- 
tion, from the 118th psalm. "Did you never," said he, "read 
in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders refused, is become 
the head-stone of the corner; this is the Lord's doing, it is mar- 
vellous in our eyes?" 

The rejection of the Messiah by the Jews, and the reception 
he met with among the Gentiles, all brought to pass by the provi- 
dence of God, are wonderful events; and therefore I say unto 



204 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you. and given to 
a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 

The chief priests and Pharisees being afraid to apprehend 
Jesus, he was at liberty to proceed in the offices of his ministry: 
accordingly he delivered another parable, wherein he described, 
on the one hand, the bad success which the preaching of the 
Gospel was to meet with among the Jews: and, on the other, 
the cheerful reception given it among the Gentiles. This 
gracious design of the Almighty, in giving the Gospel to the 
children of men, our blessed Saviour illustrated by the behavior 
of a certain king, who, in honor of his son, made a great feast, 
to which he invited many guests. M The kingdom of heaven is like 
unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son." This 
marriage supper, or great feast, signifies the joys of heaven, 
which are properly compared to an elegant entertainment, on 
account of their exquisiteness and duration; and are here said 
to be prepared in honor of the Son of God. because they are 
bestowed on men in consequence of his sufferings in their stead 
and behalf. 

Some time before the supper was ready, the servants went 
forth to call the guests to the wedding; i. e. when the fulness of 
time approached, the Jews, as being the peculiar people of God, 
were first called by John the Baptist, and afterwards by Christ 
himself ; but they refused all these benevolent calls of mercy, 
and rejected the kind invitations of the Gospel, though pressed 
by the preaching of the Messiah, and his forerunner. After our 
Saviour's resurrection and ascension, the apostles were sent 
forth to inform the Jews, that the Gospel covenant was estab- 
lished, mansions in heaven prepared, and nothing wanting but 
the cheerful acceptance of the honor designed them. 4 * Again 
he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden. 
Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings 
are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.*" 
But these messengers were as unsuccessful as the former. The 
Jews, undervaluing the favor offered them, mocked at the mes- 
sage: and some of them, more rude than the rest, insulted, beat, 
and slew the servants that had been sent to call them to the 
marriage supper of the lamb. " But when the king heard thereof 
he was wroth; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed 
those murderers, and burnt up their city." This part of the 
parable plainly predicted the destruction of the Jews by the 
Roman armies, called here the armies of the Almighty, because 
they were appointed by him to execute vengeance on that once 
favorite, but now rebellious people. 

The parable is then continued, as follows: The king again 
sent forth his servants into the countries of the Gentiles, with 
orders to compel all that they met with to come into the mar- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



295 



riage. This was immediately done, and the wedding was fur- 
nished with guests; but when the king came into the apart- 
ment, "he saw there a man which had not a wedding garment; 
and he saith unto him, Friend, how comest thou in hither, not 
having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then 
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take 
him away, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be 
weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few 
are chosen." Matt. xxii. 11, &c. 

By the conclusion of the parable, we learn that the profession 
of the Christian religion will not save a man, unless he acts from 
Christian principles. Let us, therefore, who have obeyed the 
call, and are by profession the people of God, think often on 
that awful day, when the king will come in to see his guests, 
when the Almighty will, with the greatest strictness, view every 
soul that lays claim to the joys of heaven. Let us think of the 
speechless confusion that will seize such as have not on the 
wedding garment, and of the inexorable anxiety with which 
they will be consigned to weeping and gnashing of teeth: and 
let us remember, that to have seen for a while, the light of the 
Gospel, and the fair beamings of an eternal hope, will add 
deeper and more sensible horrors to these gloomy caverns. On 
the other hand, to animate and encourage us, let us anticipate 
the joyful hour which will consign us to to bliss immortal. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The blessed Jesus wisely retorts on the Pharisees and HerodianSj 
who propound an intricate question to him. — Settles the most im- 
portant point of the law. — Enforces his Mission and Doctrine^ and 
foretells the Judgment that would fall upon the Pharisaical tribe. 

This representation of the state of the finally impenitent, 
appearing to be levelled at the Pharisees, they immediately con- 
certed with the Herodians and Sadducees, on the most proper 
method of putting Jesus to death. It is sufficiently evident, that 
their hatred was now carried to the highest pitch, because the 
most violent enmity which had so long subsisted between the 
two sects, was, on this occasion, suspended, and they joined 
together, to execute their cruel determination on the Son of 
God. They, however, thought it most eligible to act very 
cautiously, and endeavor, if possible, to catch some hasty expres- 
sion from him that they might render him odious to the people, 
and procure something against him that might serve as a basis 



296 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



for a persecution. Accordingly, they sent some of their disci- 
ples to him, with orders to feign themselves just men, who main- 
tained the greatest veneration for the divine law, and dreaded 
nothing more than the doing any thing inconsistent with its 
precepts: and, under this specious cloak of hypocrisy, to beg his 
determination of an affair that had long lain heavy on their 
consciences; namely, the paying tribute to Cassar, which they 
thought inconsistent with their zeal for religion. This question 
was, it seems, furiously debated in our Saviour's time; one 
Judas, a native of Galilee, having implanted in the minds of the 
people a notion that taxes to a foreign power were absolutely 
unlawful. A doctrine so pleasing to the worldly minded Jews, 
could not fail of finding friends, especially among the lower class, 
and therefore must have many partisans among the multitude that 
then surrounded the Son of God. The priests therefore ima- 
gined, that it was not in his power to decide the point, without 
rendering himself obnoxious to some of the parties: if he should 
say it was lawful to pay the taxes, they believed that the people, 
in whose hearing the question was proposed, would be incensed 
against him, not only as a base pretender, who, on being attack- 
ed, publicly renounced the character of the Messiah, which he 
had assumed among his friends, but also as a flatterer of princes, 
and a betrayer of the liberties of his country, one who taught a 
doctrine inconsistent with the known privileges of the people of 
God: but if he should affirm that it was unlawful to pay tribute, 
they determined to inform the governor, who they hoped would 
punish him as a former of sedition. Highly elated with their 
project, they accordingly came; and after passing an encomium 
on the truth of his mission, his courage, and impartiality, they 
proposed this famous question, "Master," said they, "we know 
that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest 
not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth." 
Tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou, "Is it lawful to give 
tribute to Caesar, or not?" Mark, xii. 14. 

But the blessed Jesus saw their secret intentions, and accord- 
ingly called them hypocrites, to signify that though they made 
conscience, and a regard for the divine will, their pretence for 
proposing this question, he saw through the thin veil that con- 
cealed their design from the eyes of mortals, and knew that 
their intention was to ensnare him. 

He, however, did not decline answering their question, but 
previously desired to see a piece of the tribute money. The 
piece was accordingly produced, and proved to be coined by 
the Romans. Upon which our blessed Saviour answered them, 
since this money bears the image of Caesar, it is his, and by 
making use of it, you acknowledge his authority. But at the 
same time that you discharge your duty to the civil magistrate, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



297 



you should never forget the duty you owe to your God; but 
remember, that as you bear the image of the great, the omnip- 
otent King, you are his subjects, and ought to pay him the 
tribute of yourselves, serving him to the very utmost of your 
power. 

The Pharisees and their followers, under a pretence of reli- 
gion, often justified sedition; but the Herodians, in order to 
ingratiate themselves with the reigning powers, made them a 
compliment of their consciences, complying with whatever they 
enjoined, however opposite their commands might be to the 
divine law. Our Lord, therefore, adapted his answer to them 
both, exhorting them, in their regards to God and the magis- 
trate, to give each his due; there being no inconsistency be- 
tween their rights, when their rights only are insisted on. 

So unexpected an answer quite disconcerted and silenced 
these crafty enemies. They were astonished, both at his having 
discovered their design, and his wisdom in avoiding the snare 
they had so artfully laid for him. "When they had heard these 
words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way." 
Matt. xxii. 22. 

Though our Lord thus wisely obviated their crafty designs, 
enemies came against him from every quarter. The Saddu- 
cees, who denied the doctrine of a future state, together with 
the existence of angels and spirits, came forward to the charge; 
proposing to him their strongest argument against the resur- 
rection, which they deduced from the law given by Moses, with 
regard to marriage. "Master," said they, "Moses wrote unto 
us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without 
children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up 
seed unto his brother. There were therefore, seven brethren; 
and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the 
second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third 
took her; and in like manner the seven also. And they left no 
children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. There- 
fore, in the resurrection, whose wife of them is she? for seven 
had her to wife." Luke, xx. 28, &c. 

The Sadducees, who believed the soul to be nothing more 
than a refined matter, were persuaded that if there was any 
future state, it must resemble the present: and that being in 
that state material and mortal, the human race could not be 
continued, nor the individuals rendered happy, without the 
pleasures and conveniences of marriage. And hence consid- 
ered it as a necessary consequence of the doctrine of the re- 
surrection, or a future state, that every man's wife should be 
restored to him. 

But this argument our blessed Saviour soon confuted, by tel- 
ling the Pharisees they were ignorant of the power of God, who 



298 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



had created spirit, as well as matter, and who can render man 
completely happy in the enjoyment of himself. He also obser- 
ved, that the nature of the life obtained in a future state made 
marriage altogether superfluous, because in the world to come, 
men being spiritual and immortal, like the angels, there was no 
need of natural means to propagate or continue the kind. "Ye 
do err," said the blessed Jesus, "not ^knowing the Scriptures, 
nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither 
marry nor are given in marriage." Matt. xxii. 29, 30. " Neither 
can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels, and 
are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." 
Luke, xx. 36. Hence we may observe, that good men are called 
the children of the Most High, from their inheritance at the re- 
surrection, and particularly on account of their being adorned 
with immortality. 

Having thus shown their folly and unbelief, he proceeded to 
show that they were also ignorant of the Scriptures, and partic- 
ularly of the writings of Moses from whence they had drawn 
their objection, by demonstrating, from the very law itself, the 
certainty of a resurrection, at least that of just men, and conse- 
quently, quite demolished the opinion of the Sadducees, who, 
by believing the materiality of the soul, affirmed that men were 
annihilated at their death, and that their opinion was founded 
on the writings of Moses. "Now," said our Saviour, "that the 
dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he call- 
eth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and 
the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of 
the living: for all live unto him." Luke, xx. 37, 38. As if he 
had said, The Almighty cannot properly be called God, unless 
he has his people, and the Lord of the living. Since therefore, 
Moses called him the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and 
the God of Jacob, long after these venerable patriarchs were 
dead, the relation denoted by the word of God still subsisted 
between them: consequently they were not annihilated as you 
pretend, but are still in being, and continue to be the servants 
of the Most High. 

This argument effectually silenced the Sadducees, and agree- 
ably surprised the people, to see the objection hitherto thought 
impregnable totally abolished, and the sect they had long abom- 
inated fully confuted. "And when the multitude heard this, 
they were astonished at his doctrine." Matt. xxii. 33. 

Nor could even the Pharisees refrain from giving the Saviour 
of mankind the praise due to his superlative wisdom; for one 
of the Scribes desired him to give his opinion on a question often 
debated among their teachers; namely, which was the great 
commandment of the law? The true reason for their proposing 
this question, was, to try whether he was as well acquainted 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



299 



with the sacred law, and the debates that had arisen on dif- 
ferent parts of it, as he was in deriving arguments from the in- 
spired writers, to destroy the tenets of those who denied a future 
state. 

In order to understand the question proposed to our blessed 
Saviour by the Scribe, it is necessary to observe, that some of 
the most learned rabbis had declared, that the law of sacrifices 
was the great commandment; some that it was the law of cir- 
cumcision; and others that the law of meats and washings had 
merited that title. 

Our blessed Saviour, however, showed that they were all mis- 
taken; and that the great commandment of the law is the duty 
of piety: and particularly mentioned that comprehensive sum- 
mary of it, given by Moses: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God 
is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and 
with all thy strength. This is the first commandment." Mark, 
xii. 29, 30. 

The first and chief commandment is, to give God our hearts. 
The Divine Being is so transcendantly amiable in himself, and 
hath, by the innumerable benefits conferred upon us, such a 
title to our utmost affection, that no obligation bears any propor- 
tion to that of loving him. The honor assigned to this precept 
proves, that piety is the noblest act of the human mind; and 
that the chief ingredient in piety is love, founded on a clear and 
extensive view of the divine perfections, a permanent sense of 
his benefits, and a deep conviction of his being the sovereign 
good, our portion and our happiness. But it is essential to love 
that there be a delight in contemplating the beauty of the ob- 
ject beloved, whether that beauty be matter of sensation or re- 
flection; that we frequently, and with pleasure, reflect on the 
benefits conferred on us by the object of our affections; that we 
have a strong desire of pleasing him, great fear of . doing any 
thing to offend him, and a sensible joy in thinking we are be- 
loved in return. Hence the duties of devotion, prayer and 
praise, are the most natural and genuine exercises of the love 
of God. Nor is this virtue so much any single affection, as the 
continual bent of all the affections and powers of the soul: 
consequently, to love God is as much as possible to direct the 
whole soul towards him, and to exercise all its faculties on him 
as its chief object. 

Accordingly, the love of God is described in Scripture by 
the several operations of the mind, "a following hard after 
God," namely, by intense contemplation; a sense of his perfec- 
tions, gratitude for his benefits, trust in his goodness, attach- 
ment to his service, resignation to his providence, the obeying 
his commandments, admiration, hope, fear, joy, &c. ? not because 

35 



300 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



it consists in any of those singly, but in them altogether; for to 
content ourselves with partial regards to the Supreme Being, is 
not to be affected towards him in the manner we ought to be, 
and which his perfections claim. 

Hence the words of. the precept are, "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;" that is, with the 
joint force of all thy faculties; and, therefore, no idol what- 
soever must partake of the love and worship that is due to him. 
But the beauty and excellency of this state of mind is best 
seen in its effects: for the worship and obedience flowing from 
such an universal bent of the soul towards God, is as much su- 
perior to the worship and obedience arising from partial con- 
siderations, as the brightness of the sun is to any picture that 
can be drawn of that luminary. 

For example, if we look upon God only as a stern lawgiver, 
who can and will punish our rebellion, it may indeed force an 
awe and dread of him, and as much obedience to his laws as we 
think will satisfy him, but can never produce that constancy in 
our duty, that delight in it, and that earnestness to perform it 
in its utmost extent, which are produced and maintained in the 
mind, by the sacred fire of divine love, or by the bent of the 
whole soul turned towards God, as a reconciled father; a frame 
the most excellent that can be conceived, and the most to be 
desired, because it constitutes the highest perfection, and real 
happiness of the creature. 

Again, this commandment requires us to fear God; and cer- 
tainly we cannot love the Lord our God, unless we fear and 
reverence him; for as the love, so the fear of God, is the sum 
of all the commandments, and indeed the substance of all reli- 
gion. Prayer and praise are the tribute and homage of religion; 
by the one we acknowledge our dependence upon God; by the 
other we confess that all our blessings and comforts are from 
him. Such, therefore, as neither pray to God, nor praise him, 
cannot be said to have a God; for they acknowledge none, 
but are gods to themselves; and as the love and fear of God 
are often used in Scripture for his whole worship and service, 
so is this invocation of his name; "Pour out thy fury upon the 
heathen, and upon the families that have not called upon thy 
name;" that is, those who do not worship or serve him. 

But to return. Our blessed Saviour having thus answered the 
question put to him by the Scribe, added that the second com- 
mandment was that which enjoined the love of our neighbor. 

This had, indeed, no relation to the lawyer's question con- 
cerning the first commandment; yet our blessed Lord thought 
proper to show him which was the second, probably because 
the men of his sect did not acknowledge the importance and 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



301 



precedency of love to their neighbors, or because they were re- 
markably deficient in the practice of it, as Jesus himself had 
often found in their attempts to kill him. "And the second is 
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

This principle of love to God will be also fruitful of every 
good work. It will make us really perform the duties of all re- 
lations in which we stand. And because love worketh no ill to 
his neighbor, therefore it is the fulfilling of the law; for it will 
prompt us to a cheerful and ready performance of every office, 
whether of justice or charity, that we owe to our neighbor. All 
the best things we can do, if destitute of this principle, will ap- 
pear to be either the effect of hypocrisy, or done to procure the 
esteem of men. Without love, a narrowness of soul will shut 
us up within ourselves, and make all we do to others only as 
a sort of merchandize, trading for our own advantage. It is 
love only that opens our hearts to consider other persons, and 
to love them on their own account, or rather on account of God, 
who is love. 

Those who possess such a temper of mind have a constant 
calm within, and are not disturbed with passion, jealousy, envy 
or ill-nature. They observe and rejoice in the happiness of 
others; they are glad to see them easy, and share with them in 
their joy and felicity; not fretting or complaining, though they 
enjoy less than their neighbors. 

It is true, love has a very different effect; for the same temper 
will render many so considerate of the misfortunes of others, 
as to sympathize with them in their distress, and be greatly af- 
fected with such objects of compassion as it .is not in their 
power to assist. But there is a real pleasure even in this com- 
passion, as it melts us to the greatest tenderness, and proves us 
to be men and Christians. The good man, by the overflowings 
of his love, is sure that he is a favorite with his Maker, because 
he lOves his neighbor. His soul dwells at ease; there is sweet- 
ness in all his thoughts and wishes. This makes him clear in 
his views of every kind, and renders him grateful to all around 
him. 

This charitable temper also maintains in him a constant 
disposition for prayer. A charitable man, who has had occa- 
sion to forbear and forgive others, and to return good for evil, 
dares, with an humble assurance, to lay claim to mercy and 
pardon, through the alone merits of his blessed Redeemer. 

But we return to the Scribe, who was astonished at the just- 
ness of our Saviour's decisions, and answered, That he had de- 
termined rightly, since there is but one supreme God, whom we 
must all adore: and if we love him above all temporal things, 
and our neighbor as ourselves, we worship him more acceptably 
than if we sacrifice to him "all the cattle upon a thousand hills." 



302 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Our blessed Lord highly applauded the piety and wisdom of 
this reflection, by declaring that the person who made it was 
not far from the kingdom of God. 

As the Pharisees, during the coarse of our Saviour's ministry, 
had proposed to him many difficult questions, with intent to 
prove his prophetical gifts, he now, in his turn, thought proper 
to make a trial of their knowledge in the sacred writings. For 
this purpose he asked their opinion of a difficulty concerning the 
Messiah's pedigree. "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is 
he? They say unto him, The son of David." Matt. xxii. 42. I 
know, answered Jesus, you say Christ is the son of David ; but 
now can they support their opinion, or render it consistent with 
the words of David, who himself calls him Lord? and "how is 
he his son?" It seems the Jewish doctors did not imagine that 
their Messiah would be endowed with any perfections greater 
than those that might be enjoyed by human nature; for though 
they called him the Son of God, they had no notion that he had 
a divine power from heaven, and therefore could not pretend to 
solve the difficulty. 

The latter question, however, might have convinced them of 
their error; for if the Messiah was only to be a secular prince, 
as they supposed, and to rule over the men of his own time, he 
never could have been called Lord, by persons who died before 
he was born; far less would so mighty a prince as David, who 
was also his progenitor, have conferred on him that title. Since, 
therefore, he rules over not only those of former ages, but even 
over the kings from whom he was himself descended, and his 
kingdom comprehends the men of all countries and times, past, 
present, and to come; the doctors, if they had thought accu- 
rately upon the subject, should have expected in their Messiah a 
king different from all other kings. Besides, he is to sit at God's 
right hand, " till all his enemies are made his footstool." 

Such solid reasoning gave the people an high opinion of his 
wisdom; and showed them how far superior he was to their 
most renowned rabbis, whose arguments to prove their opinions, 
and answers to the objections which were raised against them, 
were, in general, very weak and trifling. Nay, his foes them- 
selves, from the repeated proofs they had received of the prodi- 
gious depth of his understanding, were impressed with such an 
opinion of his wisdom, that they judged it impossible to entan- 
gle him in his talk. Accordingly, they left off attempting it, and 
from that day forth, troubled him no more with their insidious 
questions. 

But having mentioned the final conquest and destruction of 
his enemies, who were to be made his footstool, agreeable to the 
prediction of the royal psalmist, he turned towards his disciples; 
and in the hearing of the multitude, solemnly cautioned them to 



CHRIST LAMENTING OVER JERUSALEM. 

[Page 303.] 




"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are 
sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen 
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! 

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." — Matt, xxiii. 37, 38. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



303 



beware of the Scribes and Pharisees; insinuating thereby, who 
the enemies were whose destruction he had mentioned. 44 The 
Scribes and the Pharisees," said he, "sit in Moses 1 seat. All, 
therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and 
do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do -not." 
Matt, xxiii. 2, 3. 

While they teach the doctrines before delivered by Moses, 
observe all they say; but by no means imitate their practices; 
for they impose many precepts on their disciples, which they 
never perform themselves. "For they bind heavy burdens, and 
grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they 
themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But 
all their works they do for to be seen of men." Matt, xxiii. 4, 5. 

The difficult precepts they impose on others are never re- 
garded by these hypocrites, and any good action they may 
happen to perform, is vitiated by the principle from whence it 
proceeds. They do it only with a view to gain popular ap- 
plause, and not from a regard to God, far less from a love of 
goodness. They are proud and arrogant to excess, as is plain 
from their affected gravity in their clothes; from the anxiety 
they discover lest they should not obtain the principal seats in 
the public assemblies, and from their affecting to be saluted in 
the streets with the sounding titles of rabbi, and father. "They 
make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their 
garments. And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the 
chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and 
to be called of men, rabbi, rabbi." Matt xxiii. 5—7. 

The word rabbi signifies, properly, great, and was given to 
those men who had rendered themselves remarkable for the 
extent of their learning; it is therefore no wonder that the 
proud and supercilious Pharisees were fond of a title, which so 
highly complimented their understandings, and gave them great 
authority with their followers. 

But the disciples of the blessed Jesus were to decline this 
title; because the thing signified by it belonged solely to their 
Master, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
ledge, and because they owed no part of their knowledge to 
themselves, but derived it entirely from him who came down 
from heaven. "But be not ye called rabbi: for one is your 
master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man 
your father upon the earth ; for one is your Father, which is in 
heaven." Matt, xxiii. 8. 9. Life, with all its blessings, comes 
from God, and men wholly depend upon him; all praise and 
thankfulness, therefore, should ultimately be referred to him: so 
that if any one teacheth rightly, not the teacher, but the wisdom 
of the Almighty is to be praised, which exerts and communicates 
itself by him. 



304 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Nor were the disciples of our blessed Saviour to accept of the 
title of master, or leader, which the Jewish doctors also courted, 
because, in point of commission and inspiration, they were all 
equal, neither had they any title to rule the consciences of men, 
except by virtue of the inspiration which they had received 
from their Master, to whom alone the prerogative of infallibility 
belonged. "Neither be ye called masters; for one is your mas- 
ter, even Christ." Matt, xxiii. 10. 

The divine teacher, however, did not intend by this to inti- 
mate, that it was sinful to call men by their stations they held 
in the world: he only intended to reprove the simplicity of the 
common people who loaded their teachers with praises, and for- 
got to ascribe any thing to God; and to root out of the minds 
of his apostles the pharisaical vanity, which decked itself with 
honor belonging solely to the Creator of the universe. Accord- 
ingly, that he might instil into their hearts humility to dispose 
them to do good offices to one another, as occasion offered, he 
assured them it was the only road to true greatness; for by 
assuming what did not properly belong to them, they should be 
despised both by God and men. Whereas, those who did not 
disdain to perform the meanest offices of love to their brethren, 
should enjoy a high degree of the divine favor. 

The above discourses greatly incensed the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, as they were pronounced in the hearing of many of that 
order; i.t is therefore no wonder, that they watched every oppor- 
tunity to destroy him. But this was not a time to put their 
bloody designs in execution; the people set too high a value on 
his doctrine, to suffer any violence to be offered to his person; 
and as this was the last sermon he was ever to preach in public, 
it was necessary that he should use some severity, as all his 
mild persuasions proved ineffectual. 

He therefore denounced, in the most solemn manner, dreadful 
woes against them, not on account of the personal injuries he 
had received from them, but on account of their excessive wick- 
edness. 

They were public teachers of religion; and therefore should 
have used every method in their power to recommend its pre- 
cepts to the people, and to have been themselves shining exam- 
ples of every duty it enjoined: but, on the contrary, they abused 
every mark and character of goodness for all the purposes of 
villany, and under the cloak of a severe and sanctified aspect, 
they were malicious, implacable, lewd, covetous, and rapacious. 
In a word, instead of being reformers, they were the corrupters 
of mankind, and consequently their wickedness deserved the 
greatest reproof that could be given by the great Redeemer of 
mankind. "Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye 



LIFE OF CHRIST, 



305 



neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that were enter- 
ing to go in. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye devour widows* nouses, and for a pretence make long 
prayers ; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. . Wo 
unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea 
and land to make one proselyte, and, when he is made, ye make 
him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves. Matt'. 
xxiii. 13, &c. 

The punishment you shall suffer will be terribly severe, be- 
cause you have given a wrong interpretation of the ancient pro- 
phecies concerning the Messiah, and done all that is in your 
power to hinder the people from repenting of their sins, and be- 
lieving the Gospel: because you have committed the grossest 
iniquities, and under the cloak of religion have devoured the 
substance of widows and orphans, hoping to hide your villanies 
by long prayers; because ye have expressed the greatest zeal 
imaginable in making proselytes, not with a view to render the 
Gentiles more wise and virtuous, but to acquire their riches, and 
a command over their consciences; and instead of teaching them 
the precepts of virtue, and the great duties of religion, you con- 
fine them to superstitious and ceremonial institutions; and hence 
they often relapse into their old state of heathenism, and become 
more wicked than before their conversion, and consequently 
liable to a more severe sentence. 

He also exposed their doctrine concerning oaths: and de- 
clared, in opposition to their abominable tenets, that every oath, 
if the matter of it be lawful, is obligatory; because when men 
swear by any part of the creation, it is an appeal to the Creator 
himself ; for in any other light an oath of this kind is absolutely 
ridiculous, the object having neither knowledge of the fact, nor 
power to punish the perjury. "Wo unto you, ye blind guides! 
which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple it is nothing: 
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a 
debtor. Ye fools and blind! for whether is greater, the gold, or 
the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whosoever shall 
swear by the altar it is nothing, but whosoever sweareth by 
the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind ! for 
whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 
Whoso, therefore, shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and 
by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, 
sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that 
shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by 
him that sitteth thereon." Matt, xxiii. 16, &c. 

He likewise reprehended their superstitious practices, in ob- 
serving the minutest parts of the ceremonial precepts of the law, 
and at the same time utterly neglecting the eternal and indispen- 
sable rules of righteousness. 4i Wo unto you Scribes, and Phar- 



306 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



isees, hypocrites: for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cum- 
min, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, — judg- 
ment, mercy, and faith; these ought. ye to have done, and not to 
leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a 
gnat, and swallow a camel." Matt, xxiii. 23, &c. 

Their hypocrisy did not escape the censure of the Son of 
God ; they spared no pains to appear virtuous in the eyes of the 
world, and maintain an external conduct that should acquire the 
praises of men, hut at the same time neglected to adorn their 
souls with the robe of righteousness, which is the only orna- 
ment that can render them dear in the sight of their Maker. 
"Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make 
clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they 
are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse 
first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside 
of them may be clean also." Matt, xxiii. 25. Cleanse first the 
mind, thy inward man, from evil dispositions and affections, 
and the outward behavior will of course be virtuous and praise- 
worthy. 

Moreover he animadverted upon the success of their hypocrisy. 
They deceived the simple, and unthinking part of mankind, with 
their pretended sanctity, appearing like whited sepulchres, beau- 
tiful on the outside, while their internal parts were full of un- 
cleanness. "Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear 
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and 
of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous 
unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 
Matt, xxiii. 27, 28. 

He also reproved .the pains they had taken- in adorning the 
sepulchres of the prophets; because they pretended a great ven- 
eration for their memories, and even condemned their fathers, 
who killed them, saying, that if they had lived in the days of 
their fathers, they would have opposed such monstrous wicked- 
ness, while, at the same time, all their actions abundantly proved 
that they still cherished the same spirit they condemned in their 
fathers, persecuting the messengers of the Most High, particu- 
larly his only begotten Son, whom they were determined to 
destroy. "Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sep- 
ulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of 
our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the 
blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto your- 
selves, that ye are the children of them which killed the pro- 
phets." Matt, xxiii. 29, &c. 

He added that the divine Being was desirous of trying every 
method for their conversion, though all these instances of mercy 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



307 



were slighted, and that they must expect such terrible ven- 
geance, as should be a standing monument of the divine dis- 
pleasure against all the murders committed by the sons of men 
from the foundation of the world. 

Having thus laid before them their heinous guilt and punish- 
ment, he was, at the thought of the calamities which were soon 
to fall upon them, exceedingly moved, and his breast filled with 
sensations of pity to such a degree, that, unable to contain him- 
self, he brake forth into tears, bewailing the hard lot of the city 
of Jerusalem: for as its inhabitants had more deeply imbrued 
their hands in the blood of the prophets, they were to drink 
more deeply of the punishment due to such crimes. " O Jeru- 
salem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them 
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto 
desolate." Matt, xxiii. 37, &c. 

This benevolent, as well as pathetic exclamation of our blessed 
Lord, cannot fail to excite in the pious mind the warmest emo- 
tions of love to the gracious Saviour of mankind, as well as pity 
for that once chosen, but since degenerate race. How often 
had the Almighty called upon them to return from their evil 
way, before he sent his only begotten Son into the world? 
How often, how emphatically, did the compassionate Jesus en- 
treat them to embrace the merciful terms now offered them by 
the Almighty; and with what unconquerable obstinacy did they 
refuse the benevolent offers, and resist the most winning ex- 
pressions of the divine love! By the word "house," our blessed 
Saviour meant the temple, w T hich was from that time to be left 
unto them desolate; the glory of the Lord, which Haggai had 
prophesied should fill the second house, was now departing 
from it. Adding, "I say unto you, Ye shall not see me hence- 
forth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name 
of the Lord." Matt, xxiii. 39. As if he had said, As ye have 
killed the prophets, and persecuted me w T hom the Father hath 
sent from the courts of heaven, and will shortly put me, who am 
the Lord of the temple, to death, your holy house shall be left 
desolate, and your nation totally deserted by me; nor shall you 
see me any more till ye shall acknowledge the dignity of my 
character, and the importance of my mission, and say with the 
whole earth, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord." 

Thus did the blessed Jesus strip the Scribes and Pharisees of 
their hypocritical mask. He treated them with severity, be- 
cause their crimes were of the blackest dye: and hence we 
should learn to be really good, and not flatter ourselves that we 

36 



308 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



can cover our crimes, with the cloak of hypocrisy, from that 
piercing eye from which nothing is concealed. 

The people could not fail being astonished at these discour- 
ses, as they had always considered their teachers as the most 
righteous among the sons of men. Nay, the persons themselves, 
against whom they were levelled, were confounded, because 
their own consciences convinced them of the truth of every 
particular laid to their charge. They therefore knew not what 
course to pursue; and in the midst of their hesitation, they let 
Jesus depart without making any attempt to seize him, or inflict 
on him any kind of punishment. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Our Saviour commends even the smallest act, because it proceeded 
from a truly benevolent motive. — Predicts the demolition of the 
magnificent Temple of Jerusalem, and delivers several instructive 
Parables. 

Jesus, the infallible preacher of righteousness, having thus 
exposed the secret practices of the Scribes and Pharisees, re- 
paired with his disciples into the court of the women, called the 
treasury, from several chests being fixed to the pillars of the 
portico surrounding the court, for receiving the offerings of those 
who came to worship in the temple. While he continued in 
this court, "he beheld how the people cast money into the trea- 
sury : and many that were rich cast in much. And there came 
a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make 
a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto 
them, Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast 
more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury. For 
all they did cast in of their abundance: but she of her want did 
cast in all that she had, even all her living." Mark, xii. 41, 
&c. 

Though the offering given by this poor widow was in itself 
very small, yet in proportion to the goods of life she enjoyed, it 
was remarkably large; for it was all she had, even all her living. 
In order, therefore to encourage charity, and show that it is the 
disposition of the mind, not the magnificence of the offering, 
that attaches the regard of the Almighty, the Son of God ap- 
plauded this poor widow, as having given more, in proportion, 
than any of the rich. Their offerings, though great in respect 
of hers, were but a small part of their estates; whereas her of- 
fering was her whole stock. And from this passage of the Gos- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



309 



pel we should learn, that the poor, who in appearance are de- 
nied the means of doing charitable offices, are encouraged to 
do all they can. For how small soever the gift may be, the Al- 
mighty, who beholds the heart, values it, not according to what 
it is in itself, but according to the disposition with which it is 
given. 

On the other hand, we should learn from hence, that it is not 
enough for the rich that they exceed the poor in the gifts of 
charity; they should bestow in proportion to their income; and 
they would do well to remember, that a little given, where a 
little only is left, appears a much nobler offering in the sight of 
the Almighty, and discovers a more benevolent and humane 
temper of mind, than sums much larger bestowed out of a plen- 
tiful abundance. 

The disciples now remembered that their Master, at the con- 
clusion of his pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem, had declared 
that the temple should not any more be favored with his pre- 
sence, till they should say, " Blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord." 

A resolution of this kind could not fail of greatly surprising 
his disciples; and therefore, as he was departing from that sa- 
cred structure, they desired him to observe the beauty of the 
building; insinuating, that they thought it strange he should in- 
timate an intention of leaving it desolate; that so glorious a 
fabric, celebrated in every corner of the earth, was not to be 
deserted rashly; and that they should think themselves su- 
premely happy, when he, as the Messiah and descendant of 
David, should take possession of it, and erect his throne in the 
midst of Jerusalem. And as they went out of the temple, one 
of his disciples saith unto him, "Master, see what manner of 
stones, and what buildings are here." 

The eastern wall of the temple, which fronted the mount of 
Olives, whither the disciples, with their Master, were then reti- 
ring, was built from the bottom of the valley to a prodigious 
height, with stones of an incredible bulk, firmly compacted to- 
gether, and therefore made a very grand appearance, at a dis- 
tance. The eastern wall is supposed to have been the only 
remains of Solomon's temple, and had escaped when the Chal- 
deans burnt it. But this building, however strong or costly it 
appeared, our Saviour told them should be totally destroyed. 
" Seest thou," said he, "these great buildings? there shall not be 
left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." 
Mark, xiii. 2. 

That noble edifice, raised with much labor, and at a vast ex- 
pense, shall be razed to the very foundation. The disciples, 
therefore, when they heard their Master affirm, that not so 
much as one of these enormous stones, which had withstood the 



310 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fury of Nebuchadnezzar's army, and survived the destructive 
hand of time, was to be left one upon another, they perceived 
that the whole temple was to be demolished, but did not suspect 
that the sacrifices were to be taken away, and a new religion 
introduced, which rendered the temple unnecessary. They, 
therefore, flattered themselves, that the fabric then standing, 
however glorious it might appear, was too small for the numer- 
ous worshippers who would frequent it, when all the nations of 
the world were subject to the Messiah's kingdom, and was, 
therefore, to be pulled down, in order to be erected on a more 
magnificent plan, suitable to the idea they had conceived of his 
future empire. Filled with these pleasing imaginations they re- 
ceived the news with pleasure, meditating, as they walked to 
the mountain, on the glorious things which were shortly to come 
to pass. 

When they arrived on the Mount of Olives, and their Master 
had taken his seat on some eminence, from whence they had a 
prospect of the temple and part of the city, his disciples drew 
near, to know when the demolition of the old structure was to 
happen, and what were to be the signs of his coming, and of 
the end of the world. " And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, 
the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when 
shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, 
and of the end of the world?" Matt. xxiv. 3. 

The disciples, by this request, seem desirous of knowing what 
signs should precede the erection of that extensive empire, over 
which they supposed the Messiah was to reign; for they still 
expected he would govern a secular kingdom. They, therefore, 
connected the demolition of the temple with their Master's 
coming, though they had not the least notion that he was to de- 
stroy the nation and change the form of religious worship. 

They, therefore, meant, by "the end of the world," or, as the 
words should have been translated, "the end of the ages," the 
period of the political government then executed by heathen 
procurators; and considered their Master's coming to destroy 
the constitution then subsisting, as a very desirable event. They 
also thought the demolition of the temple proper, as they ex- 
pected a large and more superb building, proportioned to the 
number of the Messiah's subjects, would be erected in its stead. 

That this is the real sense of the disciples' question, will suffi- 
ciently appear, if we consider that the disciples were delighted 
with the prospect; whereas, if they had meant by the end of 
the world, the final period of all things, the destruction of the 
temple would have exhibited to them, in their present temper 
of mind, a melancholy prospect, which they could not have be- 
held without a deep concern. 

Our blessed Saviour, therefore, was careful to convince them 




Maxfcl4. 22. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



313 



of their mistake, by telling them, that he was not come to rule 
a secular empire, as they supposed, but to punish the Jews for 
their perfidy and rebellion, by destroying both their temple and 
nation. "Take heed," said he, "that no man deceive you. 
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and 
shall deceive many." 

This caution was far from being unnecessary, because, though 
the disciples were to see their Master ascend into heaven, they 
might take occasion from the prophecy, to think that he would 
appear again on earth, and, therefore, be in danger of seduction 
by the false Christs that should arise. "And ye shall hear of 
wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled, for all 
these things must come to pass; but the end is not yet." Be- 
fore this nation and temple are destroyed, terrible wars will hap- 
pen in the land; "For nation shall rise against nation, and king- 
dom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilen- 
ces, and earthquakes in divers places." Matt. xxiv. 7. 

These are the preludes of the important event, forerunners 
of the evils which shall befall this nation and people. At the 
same time you shall meet with hot persecutions; walk, there- 
fore, circumspectly, and arm yourselves both with patience and 
fortitude, that ye may be able to perform your duty, through the 
whole course of these persecutions; for ye shall be brought be- 
fore the great men of the earth, for my sake. " But when they 
shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought before-hand 
what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate; but whatsoever 
shall be given unto you in that hour, that speak you : for it is 
not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." Mark, xiii. 11. 

During this time of trouble and confusion, he told them the 
perfidy of mankind should be so great towards one another, that 
"brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the 
son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall 
cause them to be put to death." The unbelieving Jews, and 
apostate Christians, shall commit the most enormous and inhu- 
man crimes. It is, therefore, no wonder that the perfidy and 
wickedness of such pretended Christians, should discourage 
many disciples, and greatly hinder the propagation of the gos- 
pel. But he who supports his faith, during these persecutions, 
and is not led astray by the seduction of false Christians, shall 
escape that terrible destruction, which, like a deluge, will over- 
flow the land. 

And when Jerusalem shall be surrounded with armies, pagan 
armies, bearing in their standards the images of their gods, the 
" abomination of desolation," mentioned by the prophet Daniel : 
then let him who readeth the predictions of that prophet under- 
stand, that the end of the city and sanctuary, together with the 



314 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ceasing of sacrifices and oblations there predicted, is come, and 
consequently the final period of the Jewish polity. 

"Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, 
and let them which are in the midst of it depart out." Luke. xvi. 
21. "Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take 
any thing out of his house. Neither let him which is in the 
field return back to take his clothes." Matt. xxiv. 17. 18. Then 
shall be fulfilled the awful predictions of the prophet Daniel, 
and the dreadful judgments denounced against the impenitent 
and unbelieving. 

In those days of vengeance, the women who are with child, 
and those who have infants hanging at their breasts, shall be 
particularly unhappy, because they cannot flee from the impend- 
ing destruction. "But pray ye that your flight be not in the 
winter," when the badness of the roads, and the rigor of the 
season, will render speedy traveling very troublesome, if not 
impossible; "neither on the sabbath-day," when you shall think 
it unlawful. "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was 
not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever 
shall be." This is confirmed by what Josephus tells us. that no 
less than eleven hundred thousand perished in the siege. 

The heavenly prophet added, that except the days of tribula- 
tion should be shortened, none of the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
and Judea, of whom he was speaking, should escape destruction: 
in confirmation of which, Josephus tells us, that the quarrels 
which raged during the siege, were so fierce and obstinate, that 
both within the walls of Jerusalem, and without in the neigh- 
boring country, the whole land was one continued scene of hor- 
ror and desolation: and, had the siege continued much longer, 
the whole nation of the Jews had been totally destroyed, ac- 
cording to our Lord's prediction. "But," added our blessed 
Saviour, "for the elect/s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath 
shortened the days." By the elect are meant, such of the Jews 
as had embraced the doctrines of the Gospel, and particularly 
those who were brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles. 

As it is natural, in time of trouble, to look with eager expec- 
tation for a deliverer, our blessed Saviour cautioned his disciples 
not to listen to any pretences of that kind, as many false Christs 
would arise, and deceive great numbers of the people. A pre- 
diction that was fully accomplished, during the terrible siege of 
Jerusalem by the Romans; for Josephus tells us, that many 
arose, pretending to be the Messiah, boasting that they would 
deliver the nation from all its enemies. And the multitude, 
always too prone to listen to deceivers, who promise temporal 
advantages, giving credit to those deceivers, became more obsti- 
nate in their opposition to the Romans, and thereby rendered 
their destruction more severe and inevitable. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



315 



And what still increased the infatuation of the people, was 
their performing wonderful things, during the war; and accord- 
ingly, Josephus calls them magicians and sorcerers. Hence we 
see the propriety of the caution given by the Son of God, who 
foretold that "they should show great signs and wonders, inso- 
much that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. 
But take heed: behold I have foretold you all things." 

And as the partisans of the false Christs might pretend that 
the Messiah was concealed awhile, for fear of the Romans, and 
the weaker sort of Christians, without this warning, have ima- 
gined that Christ was actually returned to deliver the nation 
in its extremity, and to punish their enemies, who now so cruelly 
oppressed them, and that he would show himself as soon as it 
was proper, the blessed Jesus thought proper to caution them 
against this particular: 64 Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, 
Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the 
secret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of Man be." Matt. xxiv. 26, &c. 

The coming of the Son of Man shall be like lightning, swift 
and destructive. But he will not come personally, his servants 
only shall come, the Roman armies who, by his command, shall 
destroy this nation, as eagles devour their prey. 

Having thus given them a particular account of the various 
circumstances which should precede the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, he next described that catastrophe itself, in all the pomp of 
language and imagery made use of by the ancient prophets, when 
they foretold the destruction of cities and kingdoms. "But in 
those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and 
the moon shall not give her light: and the stars of heaven shall 
fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken." Mark, 
xiii. 24, &c. "And upon the earth distress of nations, with per- 
plexity, the sea and the waves roaring: men's hearts failing 
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are com- 
ing on the earth." Luke, xxi. 25, &c. 

By these lofty and figurative expressions, the decaying of all 
the glory, excellency, and prosperity of the nation, and the in- 
troduction of universal sadness, misery, and confusion, are beau- 
tifully described. The roaring of the sea and the waves, may 
justly be considered as metaphorical, as the signs in the sun, 
in the moon, and in the stars are plainly so, and by the powers 
of heaven are meant the whole Jewish polity, government, laws, 
and religion, which were the work of heaven: these, our Lord 
tells us, should be shaken, or rather dissolved. 

As the disciples had, in conformity to the repeated questions 
of the Pharisees, during his ministry, asked what should be the 
sign of his coming; our blessed Saviour told them, that after the 



316 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tribulation of those days, when the sun should be darkened, and 
all the enemies of the Messiah should mourn, they should see 
the accomplishment of what Daniel foretold, by the figurative 
expression of the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven: 
for they should behold the signal punishment executed on the 
Jewish nation, by the Roman armies sent for that purpose, and 
by the decree and permission of heaven. "Then shall appear 
the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man 
coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." 
Matt. xxiv. 30. 

Then were the followers of Christ to be delivered from the 
oppression under which they had long groaned, and openly 
honored before the whole earth; and on this may true believers 
rest, because it is founded on eternal truth. 44 Verily, I say unto 
you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be ful- 
filled. — Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall 
not pass away." Matt. xxiv. 34, 35. 

Whoever shall compare the prediction of our Saviour with 
the history Josephus wrote of the war, cannot fail of being 
struck with the wisdom of Christ, and acknowledging that his 
prediction was truly divine; for as the Jewish nation was at this 
time in the most flourishing state, the event here foretold ap- 
peared altogether improbable. Besides, the circumstances of 
the destruction are very numerous and surprisingly great: and 
the whole delivered without any ambiguity. It is therefore a 
prophecy, of such a kind as could never have been uttered by 
any impostor, and consequently the person who delivered it was 
acquainted with the secret councils of heaven, and was truly 
divine. 

Many cavillers against the Christian religion have asked, why 
Christ should order his disciples not to flee from Jerusalem, till they 
saw it encompassed with the Roman army, when it would then be 
impossible for them to make their escape? But persons, before 
they propose such questions, would do well to read attentively 
the history Josephus has given us of these terrible calamities; 
because they would there find a solution to the difficulty. That 
historian tells us, that Cestius G alius surrounded the city with 
his army, and, at a time when he could easily have taken the 
city, suddenly withdrew his forces, without any apparent reason. 
He adds, that as soon as the siege was raised, many eminent 
persons fled from it, as from a sinking ship. In all probability 
many of these were Christians, who, being warned by this pro- 
phecy of their great Master, saved themselves by flight, as he 
had directed. Thus we see what I ivolous objections are made 
by the free thinkers of our age against the truth of the sacred 
writings, and how easily they are answered. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



317 



Having thus beautifully, but awfully, described this important 
and striking event, the blessed Jesus assured his disciples, that it 
would be very unexpected, and thence urged the necessity of a 
watchful vigilance, lest they should be surprised, and have a 
share in those calamities. "But as the days of Noe were, so 
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." Matt. xxiv. 37. 
"Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the master of the 
house cometh; at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, 
or in the morning; lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping." 
Mark, xiii. 35, 36. 

It was natural, as men were to undergo, at the destruction of 
Jerusalem, nearly the same miseries, and as the passions which 
its approach would raise in. their minds were similar to those 
which will happen at the destruction of the world and the 
general judgment; it was natural, I say, for our blessed Saviour, 
on this occasion, to put his disciples in mind of that judgment, 
and to exhort them to the faithful discharge of their duty, from 
the consideration of the suddenness of his coming to call every 
individual to account after death: "Therefore, be ye also ready; 
for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. 
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath 
made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 
Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall 
find so doing. Verily, I say unto you, that he shall make him 
ruler over all his goods." Matt. xxiv. 44, &c. As if he had said, 
You, who are the ministers of religion, ought to be particularly 
attentive in discharging the important trust committed to your 
care; you are the stewards to whom are intrusted the whole 
household of the church; and you would do well to remember, 
that your example will have a great effect upon the minds of 
those employed under you. It is your duty to be well ac- 
quainted with the stores of evangelical truths, and to understand 
how they may be applied to the best advantage; you should be 
also careful to know the characters of the different persons 
under your directions, that you may be able to give every one 
of them his portion of meat in due season; and if I find you thus 
employed at my coming, I will reward you with the joys of my 
kingdom, even as an earthly master bestows particular marks of 
respect on such servants as have been remarkably faithful in any 
important trust. 

But on the other hand, if you are not true to the trust reposed 
in you: if you pervert your office and watch not over the souls 
committed to your care, I will come unto you unexpectedly, and 
make you dreadful examples of mine anger, by the severe pun- 
ishments which I will inflict upon you. "But and if that evil 
servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and 
shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink 

37 



318 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



with the drunken: the lord of that servant shall come in a day 
when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that lie is not 
aware of; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his por- 
tion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping, and gnashing 
of teeth." Matt. xxiv. 48, &c. 

Having thus generally prescribed the future state of retribu- 
tion, our Lord passed to the consideration of the general judg- 
ment, when those rewards and punishments should be distributed 
in their utmost extent. This could not fail of animating his 
disciples to a vigorous discharge of their duty: and the striking 
representation of the last judgment he has here given, must 
greatly tend to rouse the consciences of men from their lethargy, 
and consider, before it be too late, "the things which belong to 
their peace." 

Then shall the kingdom of heaven, the gospel-kingdom, in the 
last dispensation of it, when the kingdom of grace is going to 
be swallowed up in the kingdom of glory, "be likened unto ten 
virgins which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the 
bridegroom, and five of them were wise, and five of them were 
foolish." They that were foolish took their lamps, but put no 
oil in their vessels; while the wise, as an instance of their pru- 
dence and foresight, took both their lamps, and oil in their ves- 
sels, knowing that it was uncertain when the bridegroom would 
arrive, and that they might in all probability, wait long for his 
coming. Nor were they mistaken: for the bridegroom did not 
come so soon as they expected. And while he tarried, they all 
slumbered and slept; and at midnight there was a great cry 
made, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him: 
then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps: and the 
foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are 
gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be 
not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, 
and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bride- 
groom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the 
marriage, and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the 
other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered 
and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, there- 
fore, for ye know neither the day, nor the hour, wherein the 
Son of Man cometh.' Matt. xxv. 6, 7, &c. 

In order to understand this parable, we must remember, that 
it alludes to eastern people. It was usual with them for the 
bridegroom to bring his bride home in the evening, sooner or 
later, as circumstances might happen; and that they might be 
received properly at his house, his female acquaintance, espe- 
cially those of the younger sort, were invited to come and wait 
with lamps, till some of his retinue, dispatched before the rest, 
informed them that he was near at hand; upon which they 



THE WISE A1VD FOOLISH \ 1RGL\S. 

[Page 318.] 




"Afterwards came also the other virgins, .saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 
a But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not." — Matt. x% v < 
11, 12. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



321 



trimmed their lamps; went forth to welcome him, and conduct 
him with his bride into the house; for which they were honored 
as guests, at the marriage feasts, and shared in the usual fes- 
tivities. 

To ten such virgins our blessed Saviour compares all those 
to whom the Gospel is preached, because this was the general 
number appointed to wait on the bridegroom; and to these all 
Christian professors may be likened, who, taking their lamp of 
Christian profession, go forth to meet the bridegroom; that is, 
prepare themselves as candidates for the kingdom of heaven, and 
desire to be admitted with Christ, the celestial bridegroom, into 
the happy mansions of immortality. 

We must remember, that there always was, and always will 
be, a mixture of good and bad in the church, till the great day 
of separation arrives. The weakness of the foolish is repre- 
sented by their taking no oil in their vessels, with their lamps; 
that is, the foolish Christians content themselves with the bare 
lamp of a profession, and never think of furnishing it with the 
oil of divine grace, the fruit of which is a life of holiness. 
Whereas the wise, well knowing that a lamp, without the supply 
of oil, would be speedily extinguished: that faith, without love 
and holiness, will be of no consequence, take care to supply 
themselves with a sufficient quantity of the divine grace, and to 
display in their lives the works of love and charity. While all 
those virgins, though differently supplied, waited the coming of 
the bridegroom, all slumbered and slept: that is, all Christians, 
both good and bad, the sincere and the hypocrite, all lie down 
together in the sleep of death; and while the bridegroom delays 
his coming, slumber in the chambers of the dust. 

The Jews have a tradition, that Christ's coming to judgment 
will be at midnight, which agrees with that particular in the 
parable, " at midnight there was a cry made, Go ye out to meet 
him." But however this be, whether he will come at midnight, 
or in the morning, it will be awfully sudden and alarming. The 
great cry will be heard to the end of the earth! the trumpet 
shall sound, and the mighty archangel's voice, pierce even the 
bowels of the earth, and the depths of the oceah: "Behold the 
bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him." 

The graves, both earthly and watery, must surrender their 
clayey tenants, and all will then begin to think how they may 
prepare themselves to find admittance to the marriage supper 
of the lamb. "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their 
lamps." But the foolish soon perceived their folly : their lamps 
were gone out, totally extinguished, and they had no oil to 
support the flame; in like manner the hypocrite's hope shall 
perish. But the wise were in a much happier condition; they 
had oil in their vessels sufficient for themselves, but none to 



322 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



spare; for, when the foolish virgins would have procured some 
from them, they denied their request, fearing there would not be 
enough for both. 

They are here beautifully represented nominal and sincere 
Christians. The former having only the bare lamp of a profession, 
and who have not been solicitous to gain the oil of divine grace, 
by a constant use of the means assigned, will fare like the foolish 
virgins. While the latter, whose hearts are stocked with divine 
oil, will, like the wise virgins, enter into the joy of their Lord. 

But the foolish, going to purchase oil, missed the bridegroom, 
and behold "the door was shut." They at last, however, reached 
the gate, and with great importunity, cried, "Lord, Lord, open 
unto us." But he answered and said, "Verily, I say unto you, 
I know you not." As you denied me on earth, I deny you now; 
depart from me, I know you not! How justly, therefore, did 
our blessed Saviour bid us all "watch," that we may be found 
ready whenever he cometh; or commands, by the king of terrors, 
our attendance before his judgment seat. Let us not refuse this 
kind invitation, of being constantly prepared to meet the hea- 
venly bridegroom: let us fill our lamps with oil, that we may be 
ready to follow our great master into the happy mansions of the 
heavenly Canaan. 

But, as this duty was of the utmost importance, our blessed 
Saviour, to show us more clearly the nature and use of Christ- 
ian watchfulness, to which he exhorts us at the conclusion of the 
parable of the ten virgins, he added another, wherein he repre- 
sented the different characters of a faithful and slothful servant, 
and the difference of their future acceptation. 

This parable, like the former, is intended to stir us up to a 
zealous preparation for the coming of our Lord, by diligence in 
the discharge of our duty, and by a careful improvement of our 
souls in holiness; and at the same time to expose the vain pre- 
tences of hypocrites, and to demonstrate, that fair speeches and 
outward form, without the power of godliness, will be of no 
service in the last day of account. 

The Son of l\|an, said he, may, with respect to his final com- 
ing to judge the* world, be likened unto "a man traveling into 
a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto 
them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another 
two, and to another one: to every man according to his several 
ability: and straightway took his journey." Matt. xxv. 14, 15. 

Immediately on his master's departure, he that had received 
the five talents lost no time, but went and traded with the same, 
and his increase was equal to his industry and application; he 
made them other five talents. He that had received two talents 
did the same, and had equal success. But he that received one, 
very unlike the conduct of his fellow servants, went his way, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



323 



digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money, idle, useless, un- 
employed, and unimproved. 

After a long time, and at an hou£3Rvhen they did not expect 
it, the lord of those servants returned, called them before him, 
and ordered them to give an account of their several trusts. 
Upon which he that had received five talents, as a proof of his 
fidelity, produced other five talents, saying, "Lord, thou deliv- 
eredst unto me five talents, behold I have gained besides them, 
five talents more." Matt. xxv. 20. His lord, highly applauding 
his industry and fidelity, said to him, "Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will 
make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of 
thy lord." Matt. xxv. 21. 

In like manner, also, he that had received two talents de- 
clared he had gained two others; upon which he was honored 
with the same applause, and admitted into the same joy with his 
fellow servant; their master having regard to the industry and 
fidelity of his servants, not to the number of the talents only, but 
the greatness of their increase. 

After this, he that had received the one talent came, and, with 
a shameful falsehood, to execuse his vile indolence, said, "Lord, 
I knew thee, that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou 
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed: and 
I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth ; lo, there 
thou hast that is thine." Matt. xxv. 24, 25. 

This perversion of even the smallest portion of grace, greatly 
excited the resentment of his lord, who answered, 44 Thou wicked 
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed 
not, and gather where I have not strewed: thou oughtest, there- 
fore, to have put my money to the exchangers, and then, at my 
coming, I should have received mine own with usury. Take, 
therefore, the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath 
ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and 
he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be 
taken away, even that which he hath. And cast ye the unpro- 
fitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth." Matt. xxv. 26, &c. 

Such is the parable of the talents, as delivered by our blessed 
Saviour; a parable containing the measures of our duty to God, 
and the motives that enforce it, all delivered in the plainest and 
simplest allusion. But its views are so extensive and affecting, 
that while it instructs the meanest capacity, it engages reverence 
and attention from the greatest, and strikes an impression on the 
most improved understanding. We are to consider God as our 
Lord and Master, the author and giver of every good gift, and 
ourselves as his servants or stewards, who, in various instances 
and measures, have received from his goodness such blessings 



324 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and abilities, as may fit us for the several stations and offices of 
life to which his providence appoints us. But then we are to 
observe, that these are committed to us as a trust or loan, for 
whose due management we are accountable to the donor. 

If we faithfully acquit ourselves of this probationary charge, 
we shall receive far greater instances of God's confidence and 
favor; but if we are remiss and negligent, we must expect to 
feel his resentment and displeasure. 

A time will come, and how near it may be none of us can 
tell, when our great Master will demand a particular account of 
every talent he hath committed to our care. This time may, 
indeed, be at a distance: for it is uncertain when the king of 
terrors will receive the awful warrant to terminate our existence 
here below: yet it will certainly come, and our eternal happi- 
ness or misery depends upon it: so that we should have it con- 
tinually in our thoughts, and engrave it, as with the point of a 
diamond, on the tables of our hearts. 

We learn from this instructive parable, that infinite wisdom 
hath intrusted men with different talents, and adjusted them to 
the various purposes of human life. But though the gifts of 
men are unequal, none can, with justice, complain ; since 
whatever is bestowed, be it more or less, is a favor entirely 
unmerited. 

Each, then, should be thankful, and satisfied with his portion; 
and, instead of envying the more liberal endowments of others, 
apply himself to the improvement of his own. And it should be 
attentively observed, that the difficulty of the task is in propor- 
tion to the number of talents committed to each. He who had 
received five was to gain other five ; and he who had received 
two, was to account for other two. 

Surely then, we have no reason to complain if our Master has 
laid on us a lighter burthen, a more easy and less service, than 
what he has on others. Especially as our interest in the favor 
of the Almighty, does not depend on the number of our talents, 
but on our diligence and application in the management of 
them: so that the moral design of this parable is, to engage our 
utmost attention, to improve such talents as our heavenly Father 
has thought proper to bestow upon us. 

By these talents are principally meant, the communication 
and graces of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows in different 
measures, "dividing to every man severally as he will." And 
subordinate to these are all the means, opportunities, and abili- 
ties to exereise or improve their grace; all the advantages of 
station, fortune, education, and whatever may enable us to do 
good; for we, having received all we enjoy from God, are 
strictly obliged to promote the wise ends for which he bestows 
his favor. And here let us take a short and imperfect view of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



325 



what God has done for us. He has given us reason and under- 
standing to discern good from evil, and inquire into the causes, 
relations, and consequences of things, to collect from them pro- 
per rules of judgment and action. Indeed, since the fall, this 
faculty has been much obscured; but still it remains an univer- 
sal gift of God to men; and though not equal in all, yet it is 
given to every man in such measure, as is sufficient for their 
direction. In the knowledge of our duty, and the pursuit of our 
happiness, God has, by the Gospel, so graciously supplied the 
defect of reason, that the weakest understanding may know how 
to be happy; such assistances of divine grace attend every 
Christian, if he will apply to God for it, as may enable him to 
direct his inclinations, govern his passions, and subdue his cor- 
rupt affections. These talents of nature are in some degree 
common to all men; and by the improvement of that grace 
which is conferred on every one, all have sufficient to conduct 
them through the several stages of life, if they will use but pro- 
per diligence and application. But regard must be had to all 
the means for cultivating those gifts of nature and grace, such 
as all opportunities of instruction, the ministry, and ordinances 
of religion, the reproofs and examples of good men, the occa- 
sions offered and the abilities given for the exercise of virtue. 
All these are talents, or gifts of God, deposited with us, to be 
diligently made use of, and for which we are accountable to him. 

We shall therefore proceed to show what duty is required 
from us, in the improvement of these talents. It is here sup- 
posed, that these talents are improvable, or otherwise they would 
be of no use or value; and indeed we are bound, by the com- 
mand of God, who has threatened to inflict severe penalties, if 
we neglect it, to improve them. And if they are not improved, 
they will not continue long with us, but be lost; the finest parts 
and capacities, without proper culture, will make but a mean 
and contemptible figure. No knowledge can be preserved, 
without use and exercise, and the same holds with regard to 
moral accomplishments. It requires great care and attention 
to form a virtuous habit, but much more to preserve it in its 
vigor. Unless we co-operate with the motions of God's grace, 
and cultivate it by use and application, its impressions will grad- 
ually wear out, and be lost. "The Spirit of God will not always 
strive with man." He gives us a stock to manage, equal to the 
service he expects from us; but if we are slothful and negligent, 
and will not apply it to the purposes for which it was given, he 
will recall the useless gift. "Take from him," says he, "the 
talent, and give it to him that hath ten talents." Let us, there- 
fore, diligently improve every talent committed to us, because 
this will be required of us in the day of accounts. Happy the 
man who has improved his talents on earth! What this in> 



326 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



provement implies, and how we may discharge this duty is an 
inquiry of the nearest concern to us. The proper improvement 
of all God ? s gifts is the employing them so, as may best promote 
his glory. 

This is the end the Almighty has proposed in our creation; in 
all the powers he hath endued us with, and in all the aids of 
grace he has vouchsafed us. Whatever other improvements we 
make of them will not profit us, nor be admitted as any proof of 
our fidelity in the day of reckoning. We may cultivate our 
understanding by learning and study, and extend our knowledge 
through all the subjects of human inquiry; but if our end be only 
to gratify our curiosity or our vanity, we are not serving God, 
but ourselves; we may increase our portion of God's outward 
gifts, but if we only apply them to enlarge our own conveniences, 
we are not making the improvements our Master expects; we 
may take pleasure in our knowledge and fortune, rejoice in them 
as our portion and instrument in our present situation; but we 
must still remember, that in our reckoning with God, all these 
improvements of our capacities and abilities will be added to our 
account. And the only use God will admit us to set in balance 
of our debt to him, is to employ them as means of increasing and 
multiplying our virtues, or as instruments of exercising them in 
the work of piety and religion. 

From hence we may infer that there will be degrees of future 
glory and happiness, proportioned to our eminence in the divine 
life, and the service we have done to the cause of Christ. 

Dreadful will be his curse, who has squandered away the stock 
itself; suffered his gifts to perish for want of use; or, by abusing 
them to the service of sin, has provoked the Almighty to take 
them from him. 

How shall the prodigal recall the fortune he has spent, and 
appease the anger of his judge? The terrors of the Lord may 
justly affright him; but it should not extinguish his endeavors in 
despair. He has lost many excellent talents; but he who gave 
can restore. Indeed, the most circumspect piety will, in the 
great day of accounts, want much to be forgiven: and must 
expect his reward from the mercy of his judge, not from the 
merit of his service. Let us then do all in our power to bring 
forth fruits meet for repentance. For though the awful day of 
the Lord may be at a great distance, yet the time allotted us to 
prepare for it, is limited by the short space of human life. The 
night of death cometh, when no man can work. To-day, there- 
fore, while it is called to-day, let us be diligent in the work of 
the Lord, correct our errors, and finish what is imperfect, that 
we may obtain his approbation, and make our calling and elec- 
tion sure. 

We shall now proceed to the third parable delivered at the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



327 



same time by the blessed Jesus, namely, that of the last judg- 
ment. "When the Son of Man," said he, "shall come in his 
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon 
the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all 
nations; and he shall saparate them, one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the 
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." Matt. xxv. 
31. It is common in the Old Testament, to compare good men 
to sheep, on account of their innocence and usefulness; and 
wicked men to goats, for their exorbitant lusts. Our blessed 
Saviour, however, does not pursue the allegory farther, but - 
describes the remaining, and indeed the greatest part of this 
awful scene, in terms perfectly simple: so that though the sense 
be profound, it is obvious. 

Here the judgment of all nations, Gentiles, as well as Chris- 
tians, is exhibited: and the particulars on which these awful 
trials are to proceed, displayed by the great Judge himself. 

Here we learn, that we shall be condemned or acquitted, ac- 
cording as as we have neglected or performed works of charity; 
works which flow from the great principles of faith and piety, 
and which the very heathens are, by the light of nature, invited 
to perform. But we must not understand that such works 
merited this favor from the Judge; no, all who are acquitted 
at that day, whether heathens or Christians, shall be acquitted 
solely on account of the righteousness of Christ, the true, the 
only meritorious cause. 

Good men can at best but consider their present state as a 
banishment from their native country. A state in which they 
are often exposed to innumerable temptations, to persecutions, 
to poverty, to reproach, to contempt. But the consideration 
that they are traveling towards the heavenly Jerusalem, a city 
prepared for them when the foundations of the world were laid, 
will be abundantly sufficient to support their spirits, and render 
them " more than conquerors." The glory laid up for them in 
the mansions of eternity, and which the great Judge will, at the 
awful day of accounts, confer upon them, will animate them to 
bear the violences of their oppressors, and even defy the malice 
of men and devils. Nay, they will behold with contempt the 
flourishing prosperity of the wicked, and look forward to that 
glorious and immortal crown, which will be given them by their 
great Redeemer. "Then shall the king say unto them on his 
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was 
an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave 
me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye 
clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and 
ye came unto me." Malt. xxv. 34, &c. 

38 



328 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The enraptured and amazed soul shall then ask, with great 
reverence and humility, when they performed these services? 
as they never saw him in want, and therefore could not assist 
him. "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or 
thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, 
and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw 
we thee sick or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king 
shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breth- 
ren, ye have done it unto me," Matt. xxv. 37, &c. This is truly 
astonishing! The united wisdom of men and angels could never 
have discovered a more proper method to convey an idea of the 
warmth and force of the divine benevolence to the sons of men, 
or offer a more forcible motive to charity, than that the Son of 
God should, from his seat of judgment, in presence of the whole 
race of mankind, and all the hosts of blessed spirits from the 
courts of heaven, declare that all good offices done to the afflicted 
are done to himself. 

During the time of his dwelling with human nature in this 
vale of tears, he suffered unspeakable injuries and afflictions: 
and, therefore, considers all the distressed virtuous as members 
of his body, loves them with the utmost tenderness, and is so 
greatly interested in their welfare, that he rejoices when they 
are happy, and grieves when they are distressed. 

Perhaps the true reason why the grand inquiry shall rest solely 
on the performance of duties is, that men, generally speaking, 
consider the neglect of duties as a matter of no great conse- 
quence, but dread the commission of crimes. And hence it 
happens, that while they keep themselves free from the latter, 
they easily find excuses for the former. And as there is not a 
more pernicious error, with regard to religion and morality, than 
this, the blessed Jesus thought proper to give such an account of 
the judgment as should prove the most solemn caution against it. 

But as the inquiry turns wholly on the performance of the 
duties of charity, it has been asked, why these duties only are 
mentioned, and no notice taken of the duties of piety; though 
the judge himself, upon another occasion, declared these to be of 
more importance than the duties of charity, so highly applauded 
in this parable? But those who ask this question, would do well 
to remember, that piety and charity cannot subsist separately; 
piety, and its origin faith, always producing charity; and charity, 
wherever it subsists, necessarily pre-supposing piety. 

The connexion between piety and charity will evidently ap- 
pear, if it be considered, that no man can be truly benevolent 
and merciful, without loving those dispositions. Consequently, 
he must love benevolence in God, that is, he must love God; for 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



329 



piety, or the love of God, is nothing else but the regard we cher- 
ish towards God on account of his perfections. 

Piety and charity being thus essentially connected together, it 
is abundantly sufficient to examine the conduct of men, with 
regard to either of those graces. In the parable, the inquiry is 
represented as turning upon the duties of charity, perhaps, be- 
cause in this branch of goodness, there is less room for self-deceit 
than in the other. It is common for hypocrites by a pretended 
zeal in the externals of religion, to make specious pretences to 
extraordinary piety, and at the same time are totally deficient in 
charity; are covetous, unjust, rapacious, and proud, and conse- 
quently destitute of all love for their Creator. But none can as- 
sume the appearance of charity but by feeding the hungry, cloth- 
ing the naked, relieving the distressed, and performing other 
benevolent" offices to their brethren. 

The work of charity may, indeed, in some particular cases, 
flow from other principles than those of a pious and benevolent 
disposition, as from vanity, or even views of interest; but then 
it should be remembered, that a common degree of hypocrisy 
will hardly engage men to undertake them; they are by far too 
weighty duties to be sustained by those false principles, and, 
therefore, are seldom counterfeited. Consequently, wherever a 
genuine, extensive, and permanent charity is found, we may con- 
clude, that there the love of God reigns in perfection. 

Hence we learn that all pretences to goodness, without a prin- 
ciple of grace wrought in the heart, avail nothing in point of 
eternal salvation. At the same time, if we consider it in its full 
light, it will give us no reason to think well of ourselves, if we 
are wanting in our duty to God; and that we should not only be 
charitable, but grateful also, just, temperate, and blameless in all 
our dealings with mankind. For we should remember that the 
duty we owe to the Almighty is no other than what is due to 
men in the like circumstances, and which it would be unjust in 
us to neglect. It consists in dispositions and actions, the same in 
kind, but different in degree, proportionate to the perfection of 
the object. 

He who loves and admires holiness, justice, and truth in men, 
cannot but love those perfections in God; that is, he must love 
God; so, likewise, he that is truly grateful to any earthly bene- 
factor, cannot be ungrateful to one from whose bounty he 
receives all the good things he enjoys; and since ingratitude in 
men is nothing more than forgetting the benefit received, and the 
benefactor who conferred the favor; how can we acquit our- 
selves from the charge of ingratitude to God, if we forget the 
obligations we lie under to him, and are at no pains to return 
him thanks; that is, if we wholly neglect the external and inter- 
nal exercises of devotion? 



330 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Since, therefore, the duty we owe to God is the same in kind 
with that we owe to man in like circumstances, it will undeniably 
follow, that true morality ca^i never exist where piety is want- 
ing; and that those who pretend to morality, and are destitute 
of piety, render themselves ridiculous. 

The awful Judge himself has told us, that after he has passed 
the happy sentence on the righteous, he will pronounce the fol- 
lowing sentence of condemnation upon the wicked: "Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no 
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and 
in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer 
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or 
a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister 
unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily, I say 
unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, 
ye did it not to me." Matt. xxv. 41, &c. 

It is remarkable, that our blessed Saviour has told us, that the 
original design of Omnipotence was to render man happy, not 
miserable ; a state of consummate felicity was formed for the hu- 
man race, at the time they were created; but the fire of hell 
was prepared for the devil and his angels immediately after their 
fall. And as wicked men joined with devils in their sin of re- 
bellion against the Almighty, they are doomed to share with 
them in their punishment: a punishment of the heaviest kind; 
a punishment of devils. 

After having represented the sentences that are to be passed 
on the righteous and the wicked, our Saviour closed the parable 
in the following manner: "And these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 
xxv. 46. 

Happy decision to the followers of the Lamb ! awful sentence 
to the workers of iniquity! may it excite us to pray for that 
grace by which alone we shall obtain the latter! 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



331 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Our blessed Lord is anointed by a poor but pious woman, — The 
perfidious Judas consents to betray his Master, — The humble Jesus 
washes the feet of his Disciples, and foretels that Disciple who 
was to betray him into the hands of his inveterate enemies. 

The blessed Jesus used frequently to retire, in the evening, 
from the city to the Mount of Olives, and there spend the night, 
either in some village or the gardens, in order to avoid falling 
into the hands of his enemies. They did not, indeed, presume 
to attack him, while he was surrounded by his followers in the 
day time; but, in all probability, had he lodged within the city, 
they would have apprehended him during the darkness and 
silence of the night. 

When our blessed Saviour had finished these parables, he 
added a short account of his own death, in order to fortify his 
disciples against the greatest trial they had met with; namely, 
the sufferings of their Master. " And it came to pass, when 
Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye 
know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the 
Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assembled together 
the chief priests, and the Scribes, and the elders of the people, 
unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and 
consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. 
But they said, Not on the feast day, least there be an uproar 
among the people." Matt, xxvi. 1, &c. 

When the evening approached, our blessed Saviour, with his 
disciples, repaired to Bethany, and entered the house of Simon 
the leper, probably one who had experienced the healing efficacy 
of his power. But while he sat at meat, a woman, who had also, 
doubtless, been an object of his mercy, poured a box of precious 
ointment upon his head. 

This action displeased the disciples, who knew that their Mas- 
ter was not delighted with luxuries of any kind; and therefore 
they rebuked the woman, imagining that it would have been 
more acceptable to the Son of God, if the ointment had been 
sold, and the money distributed among the sons and daughters of 
poverty and affliction. 

To reprove the disciples, Jesus told them, that it had pleased 
the divine Providence to order that there should always be per- 
sons in necessitous circumstances, that the virtuous might never 
want occasions for exercising their charity ; but that those who 
did not now testify their love to him would never more have the 
opportunity of doing it, as the time of his ministry was near its 



332 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



period, when the king of terrors should enjoy a short triumph 
over his body; and therefore this woman had seasonably anointed 
him for his burial. And to make them sensible of their folly, in 
blaming the woman for this her expression of love to him, he 
assured them that she should be highly esteemed for this action, 
in every part of the world, and her memory live to the latest 
period of time. 

Judas Iscariot, (one of the twelve, having been more forward 
than the rest in condemning the woman, thought the rebuke 
was particularly directed to him,) stung with the guilt of his own 
conscience, arose from the table, and went immediately into the 
city, to the high priest's palace, where he found the whole coun- 
cil assembled. His passion would not suffer him to reflect on 
the horrid deed he was going to commit; he immediately pro- 
mised, for the reward of thirty pieces of silver, to betray into 
their hands his Lord and Master. 

Having thus engaged with the rulers of Israel, to put into 
their hands a person who had been long laboring for their salva- 
tion, who had often invited them in the most pathetic manner, 
to embrace the benevolent terms of the Gospel, offered by the 
Almighty, he sought an opportunity to betray him in the ab- 
sence of the multitude. 

Our Lord, who well knew that the time of his suffering drew 
nigh, desired, therefore, to celebrate the passover with his dis- 
ciples. He was now going to finish the mighty work for which 
he came into the world; and therefore would not neglect to 
fulfill the smallest particular of the law of Moses. He therefore 
sent two of his disciples into the city, to prepare a lamb, and 
make it ready, for eating the passover; telling them that they 
should meet a man, bearing a pitcher of water, who would con- 
duct them to his house, and show them a large upper room fur- 
nished, where they were to make ready for him. He was will- 
ing in this last transaction, to convince his disciples, that he 
knew every thing that should befall him; that his sufferings were 
all pre-determined by the Almighty; and that they were all, on 
his own account submitted unto voluntarily. 

When night approached, Jesus left Bethany; and every thing 
being ready for him, at the time he entered into the city, he sat 
down at the appointed hour. But knowing that his sufferings 
were now near, he told his disciples in the most affectionate 
manner, that he had greatly longed to eat the passover with 
them before he suffered, in order to show them the strongest 
proofs of his love. These proofs were to give them a pattern 
of humility and charity by washing their feet; instructing them 
in the nature of his death, and a propitiatory sacrifice; institu- 
ting the sacrament, in commemoration of his sufferings: comfort- 
ing them by the tender discourses recorded, JoAn, xiv. xv. xvi., 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



333 



in which he gave them a variety of excellent directions, together 
with many gracious promises; and recommending them to the 
kind protection of his heavenly Father. "With desire I have 
desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer. For I say 
unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in 
the kingdom of God." 

Having thus spoken, he arose from the table, laid aside his 
garments, like a servant, and, with all the officiousness of a hum- 
ble minister, washed the feet of his disciples, without distinc- 
tion, though one of them, Judas Iscariot, was a monster of im- 
piety; that they might at once behold a conjunction of charity, 
and humility, and self-denial, and indifference, represented by a 
person glorious beyond expression, their great Lord and Master. 

He washed their feet, (according to a custom which prevailed 
in those hot countries both before and after meat,) in order to 
show them an example of the utmost humility and condescension. 

The omnipotent Son of the Father lays every thing aside that 
he may serve his followers: heaven stoops to earth, one abyss 
calls upon another, and the miseries of man, which were almost 
infinite, are exceeded by a mercy equal to the immensity of the 
Almighty. He deferred this ceremony, which was a customary 
civility paid to honorable strangers, at the beginning of their 
feast, that it might be preparatory to the second, which he in- 
tended should be a feast to the whole world, when all the fol- 
lowers of the blessed Jesus should have an opportunity, in a 
spiritual manner, of feeding on his flesh, and drinking his blood. 

When our blessed Saviour came to Peter, he modestly de- 
clined it; but his Master told him, if he refused to submit impli- 
citly to all his orders, he could have no part with him. On 
which Peter cried out, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my 
hands and my head." But Jesus told him, that the person who 
had bathed himself, had no reason to wash any part of the body, 
except his feet, which he might have dirtied by walking from 
the bath. And added, Ye are all clean, as to the outward laver, 
but not as to the inward and spiritual laver: I well know that 
one of you will betray me. 

When our gracious Lord had finished this menial service, he 
asked his disciples, if they knew the meaning of what he had 
done, as the action was purely emblematical? You truly, added 
he, style me Master and I :>rd, for I am the Son of God, and 
the Saviour of the world. But if I your Master and your Lord, 
have condescended to wash your feet, you surely ought to per- 
form with the utmost pleasure, the humblest offices of charity 
one to another. I have set you a pattern of humility, and I 
recommend it to you. 

And certainly nothing can more effectually show us the neces- 
sity of this heavenly temper of mind than its being recommended 



334 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to us by so great an example: a recommendation, which in the 
present circumstances, was particularly seasonable; for the dis- 
ciples having heard their great Master declare that the kingdom 
of heaven was at hand, their minds were filled with ambitious 
thoughts. And therefore our blessed Saviour added, Ye need 
not be ashamed to follow my example in this particular; for no 
servant can think it beneath him to condescend to perform those 
actions his lord had done before him. And therefore, if he 
knows his duty, he will be happy if he practices it. He more- 
over added, that though he had called them all to the apostle- 
ship, and well knew the secret dispositions of every heart, before 
he chose them, they need not be surprised that one among them 
should prove a traitor, as it was done that the Scripture might 
be fulfilled: "He that eateth bread with me, hath lift up his 
heel against me." 

As our blessed Saviour was now to be but a short time with 
his disciples, he thought proper to take his farewell of them, 
which he did in a most affectionate manner. These melancholy 
tidings greatly troubled them. They were unwilling to part 
with so kind a friend, so dear a Master, so wise a guide, and so 
profitable a teacher; especially as they thought they should be 
left in a forlorn condition, a poor and helpless prey to the rage 
and hatred of a blind and malicious generation. They seemed 
willing to die with their Lord, if that might be accepted. Why 
cannot I follow thee? I will lay down my life for thee! was 
the language of one, and even all of them; but they could not 
support the thoughts of a disconsolate separation. 

Their great and compassionate Master seeing them thus de- 
jected, endeavored to cheer their drooping spirits: "Let not 
your hearts be troubled." Listen attentively to what I am 
going to deliver for your consolation: "I am going to prepare 
a place for you; I will come again and receive you to myself, 
that where I am, there you may be also." A reviving admoni- 
tion! They were one day to meet again their dear, their affec- 
tionate Master, in a place where they should live together to 
all eternity. 

But death makes so vast a distance between friends, and the 
disciples then knew so little of a future state, that they seemed 
to doubt whether they should, after their parting, meet their 
great Redeemer. They neither knew the place where he was 
going, nor the way that led to his kingdom. " Lord," said they, 
"as we know not whither thou goest, how can we know the 
way?" In answer to this question, he told them, that he was 
"the way, the truth, and the light;" as if he had said, Through 
the propitiatory sacrifice I am about to offer, the sacred truths I 
have delivered, and the divine assistance which I shall hereafter 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



335 



dispense, you are to obtain that happiness which I go to pre- 
pare for you. 

But lest all these arguments should not be sufficient to quiet 
their minds, he had still another, which could not fail of success: 
"If ye love me," says he, "ye will rejoice, because I said, I go 
to the Father." Intimating that he would consider it as a proof 
of their love to him, if they ceased to mourn. They doubtless 
thought, that by grieving for his death, they expressed their love 
to their Master; and it might seem strange that our Saviour 
should put so contrary an interpretation on their friendly sor- 
row, or require so unnatural a thing of them, as to rejoice at his 
departure. What! (might they think,) shall we rejoice at so 
amiable a friend's removal from us; or can we be glad, that he 
retires, and leaves us in this vale of misery ? No, it is impossi- 
ble; the human heart, on so melancholy an occasion, can have 
no disposition to rejoice. 

Our blessed Saviour therefore, adds his reason, to solve the 
seeming paradox; because he was going to the Father: that is, 
he was going to ascend to the right hand of infinite power, from 
whence he would send them all the assistance they could desire. 
It must not, however, be supposed, that he meant by these 
words, that his disciples should not be concerned at his death, 
or that they could not love him unless they expressed a visible 
joy on this occasion. That would, indeed, have been a hard 
interpretation of their grief : he knew their grief flowed from 
love; and that if their love had not been strong, their sorrow 
had been much less. Indeed, their Master was fully convinced 
that love was the occasion of their sorrow; and therefore, he 
used these arguments to mitigate it, and direct it in a proper 
course. 

Nor did our Lord intend to intimate that all sorrow for so 
worthy a friend was unlawful, or an unbecoming expression of 
their love: doubtless he was not displeased to see his disciples 
so tenderly affected at his removal from them. He who shed 
tears at the grave of Lazarus, blended with sighs and groans, 
cannot be thought to forbid them wholly at his own. He there- 
fore did not chide his disciples with angry reproaches, as though 
they had been entirely in the wrong, but gently reasoned with 
them by kind persuasion. "Let not your hearts be troubled," 
as rather pitying than condemning their sorrow. 

Soon after Jesus had spoken these things, his heart was 
greatly troubled, to think that one of his disciples should prove 
his enemy; he complained of it at the table, declaring that one 
of them should betray him. This moving declaration greatly 
affected the disciples; and they began every one of them to say 
to their Master, "Lord, is it I?" But Jesus giving them no de- 
cisive answer, John, the beloved disciple, whose sweet disposi- 

39 



336 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tion and other amiable qualities is perpetuated in the peculiar 
love his great Master bore him, and was now reclining on his 
bosom, asked him, who among the disciples could be guilty of 
so detestable a crime? Jesus told him, that the person to whom 
he should give the sop, when he had dipped it, was he who should 
betray him. Accordingly, as soon as he had dipped the sop in 
the dish, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, saying to him. at the same 
time, " That thou doest, do quickly." 

Judas received the sop, without knowing any thing of what 
his Master had told the beloved disciple: nor did any of the dis- 
ciples, except St. John, entertain the least suspicion that Judas 
was the person who would betray their Master. 

The innocent disciples were, indeed, so deeply affected with 
this declaration, that one of them should betray him. that they 
did not remark the words of Jesus to his apostate disciple : but 
continued to ask him, who was the person that should be guilty 
of so unnatural a crime ? Willing, at last, to satisfy their impor- 
tunity, the blessed Jesus declared, that the person who dipped 
his hand with him in the dish should betray him. This, to the 
eleven, was a joyful declaration, but confounding in the highest 
degree to Judas. Impudent as he was, it struck him speechless, 
pointing him out plainly, and displaying the foulness of his 
heart. 

While Judas continued mute with confusion, the blessed Jesus 
declared that his death should be brought about according to 
the decrees of heaven, though that would not. in the least, miti- 
gate the crime of the person who betrayed him: adding, 4, it had 
been good for that man if he had not been born.*' Judas hav- 
ing now recovered himself a little, asserted his innocence by a 
question which implied a denial of the charge. But his Master 
soon silenced him. by positively affirming that he was really the 
person. 

As various cpnjectures have been formed concerning the 
motives which induced the perfidious Judas cruelly to deliver 
up his innocent Master into the hands of his enemies, it may 
not be improper to cite those which appear to be most probable, 
though the decision must be entirely left to the reader. 

Some are of opinion that he was induced to commit this 
villany by the resentment of the rebuke given him by his Mas- 
ter, for blaming the woman who came with the precious oint- 
ment, and anointed the head of Jesus, as he sat at meat in the 
house of Simon the leper. But though this had, doubtless, its 
weight with the traitor, yet it could not. I think, be his only 
motive: because the rebuke was given in general to all the dis- 
ciples, who had, perhaps, been equally forward with him in 
censuring the woman. Nor can we imagine, even if he had 
been rebuked alone, that so mild a reproof could provoke any 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



337 



person, however wicked, to the horrid act of murdering his 
friend; much less Judas, whose covetous disposition must have 
disposed him to bear every thing from his Master, from whom 
he expected the highest preferment, if he should openly declare 
himself the Messiah, and take the reins of government into his 
own hands. 

Others think that Judas betrayed his Master through covet- 
ousness. But, if we understand by covetousness the reward 
given by the priests, this opinion is equally defective; for the 
sum was too small for the most covetous wretch to think equiva- 
lent to the life of a friend, especially when he expected from 
him the highest posts and advantages. 

Others attribute the perfidy of Judas to his doubting whether 
his Master was the Messiah: and that he betrayed him in a fit 
of despair. But of all the solutions, this is the worst founded. 
For if Judas believed his Master to be an impostor, he must 
have observed something in his behavior which led him to form 
such an opinion of him; and in that case he would doubtless 
have mentioned it to the chief priests and elders, when he made 
the contract with them; which it is plain he did not, as they 
would have reminded him of it when he came back and ex- 
pressed his remorse for what he had done. It should also be 
observed, that had Judas given them any intimations of this 
kind, they would doubtless have urged them against our blessed 
Saviour himself, in the course of his trial, when they were at 
so great a loss for witnesses to support their accusations; and 
against the apostles, afterwards, when they reproved them for 
speaking in the name of Jesus. Besides, had Judas thought his 
Master an impostor, and proposed nothing by his treachery but 
the price he put upon his life, how came he to sell him for such 
a trifle, when he well knew that the chief priests and rulers 
would have given him any sum rather than not have got him 
into their hands? 

In fine, the supposition that Judas believed his Master to be 
an impostor, is directly confuted by the solemn declaration he 
made to the priests, when he declared the deepest conviction 
of the innocence of our great Redeemer: "I have sinned," says 
he, "in betraying the innocent blood." 

It must be remembered that the remorse he felt for his crime, 
when he saw his Master condemned, was too bitter to be en- 
dured; so that he fled even to the king of terrors for relief. 

The Evangelist, St. John, tells us that he was of so covetous 
a disposition, as to steal money out of our Lord's bag; and hence 
we have sufficient reason to believe, that he first followed Jesus 
with a view of obtaining riches, and other temporal advantages, 
which he expected the Messiah's friends would enjoy. It like- 
wise authorizes us to think that as he had hitherto reaped none of 



338 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



these advantages, he might grow impatient under the delay; 
and the rather, as Jesus had lately discouraged all ambitious 
views among his disciples, and neglected to embrace the oppor- 
tunity of erecting that kingdom which was offered him by the 
multitude, who accompanied him into Jerusalem with shouts, 
and crying, Hosannah to the Son of David. His impatience, 
therefore, becoming excessive, suggested to him the thought of 
delivering his Master into the hands of the council, firmly per- 
suaded that he would then be obliged to assume the dignity of 
the Messiah, and consequently be able to reward his followers. 
For as this court was composed of the chief priests, elders, and 
Scribes, that is, the principal persons of the sacerdotal order, the 
representatives of the great families, and the doctors of the law; 
the traitor did not doubt that his Master, when brought before 
so august an assembly, would assert his pretensions to the title 
of Messiah, prove his claim to their full conviction, gain them 
over to his interest, and immediately enter to his regal dignity. 
And though he must be sensible that the measures he took to 
compass his intention were very offensive to his Master, yet he 
might think the success of it would procure his pardon from so 
compassionate a Master, and even recommend him to favor. In 
the mean time his project, however plausible it may appear to 
one of his turn, was far from being free from difficulty: and 
therefore, while he revolved it in his own mind, many things 
might occur to stagger his resolution. At length thinking him- 
self affronted by the rebuke of Jesus, at the time when the 
woman anointed the head of his Master, he was provoked to 
execute the resolution he had formed of obliging him to alter 
his measures. Rising, therefore, directly from the table, he went 
immediately into the city, to the palace of the high priest, where 
he found the council assembled, consulting how they might take 
Jesus by subtlety, in the absence of the multitude. 

To them he made known his intention of delivering his Mas- 
ter into their hands; and undertook, for a small sum of money, 
to conduct a band of armed men to the place where the Saviour 
of the world usually spent the night with the disciples, where 
they might apprehend him without the least danger of a tumult. 

Some reasons may be offered in support of this opinion con- 
cerning the motives which induced Judas to betray his Master. 
First, — From the nature of the contract: "What will ye give 
me," said he, "and I will deliver him unto you?" He did not 
mean that he would deliver him up to be put to death; for though 
the priests had consulted among themselves, how they might 
destroy Jesus, they had not been so abominably wicked as to de- 
clare their intention publicly; they only proposed to bring him 
to trial, for assuming the character of the Messiah, and to treat 
him as it should appear he deserved. The offer, therefore, which 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



339 



Judas made them of delivering him up, was in conformity to 
their declared resolutions. Nor did they understand it in any 
other light; for had the priests thought that his design in this 
was to get his Master punished with death, they must also have 
thought he believed him to be an impostor; in which case they 
would, doubtless, have produced him as one of their principal 
evidences, no person being more proper. Also, when Judas 
returned to them with the money, declaring that he had sinned, 
in betraying the innocent blood, instead of replying, "What is 
that to us? see thou to that;" it was the most natural thing in the 
world to have upbraided him with the stain he had put upon his 
Master's character, by the contract they had made with him. 

It is true, they called the money they gave him the " price of 
blood;" but they did not mean this in the strictest sense, as they 
had neither hired Judas to assassinate his Master, nor can they 
be supposed to have charged themselves with the guilt of mur- 
dering him. It was only the price of blood, consequently being 
the reward they had given to the traitor, for putting it in their 
power to take away the life of Christ, under the color and form 
of public justice. Now it may be doubted whether Judas asked 
the money as a reward of his service. He covetously, indeed, 
kept it; and the priests, for that reason, called it the price of 
blood. 

In short, Judas knew that the rulers could not take away the 
life of any person whatsoever, the Romans having deprived them 
of that power, and therefore could have no design of this kind in 
delivering him up: not to mention that it was a common opinion 
among the Jews, that the Messiah could never die: an opinion 
that Judas might readily embrace, having seen his Master raise 
several persons, and among the rest one who had been in the 
grave no less than four days. 

Another reason which may be assigned, in confirmation of this 
opinion, is the traitor's hanging himself, when he found him con- 
demned, not by the governor, but by the council, whose preroga- 
tive it was to judge prophets. Had Judas proposed to take 
away the life of his Master, the sentence of condemnation passed 
upon him, instead of filling him with despair, must have gratified 
him, being the accomplishment of his project: whereas, the light 
wherein we have endeavored to place his conduct, shows this 
circumstance to have been perfectly natural. 

He knew him to be thoroughly innocent, and expected that he 
would have wrought such miracles before the council as should 
have constrained them to believe. Therefore, when he found 
that nothing of this kind was done, and that the priests had 
passed the sentence of condemnation upon him, and were carry- 
ing him to the governor to get it executed, he repented of his 
rash and covetous project, came to the chief priests and elders, 



340 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the persons to whom he had betrayed him, offered them their 
money again, and solemnly declared the deepest conviction of 
his Master's innocence, hoping that they would have desisted 
from the persecution. But they were obstinate, and would not 
relent; upon which his remorse rose to such a pitch, that, unable 
to support the torments of his conscience, he went and hanged 
himself. 

Thus, it is probable that the traitor's intention in delivering 
up his Master, was not to get him punished with death, but only 
to lay him under a necessity of proving his pretensions before 
the grandees, whom he had hitherto shunned; thinking, that if 
they had yielded, the whole nation would immediately have 
been raised forthwith to the summit of their expectations. 

This account of Judas' conduct is by no means calculated to 
lessen the foulness of his crime, which was the blackest imagin- 
able. For even in the light above mentioned, it implied both 
an insatiable avarice, and a willful opposition to the councils of 
Providence, and rendered the actor of it a disgrace to human 
nature. But it is calculated to set the credibility of the traitor's 
action in a proper light, and to show that he was not moved to 
it by any thing suspicious in the character of his Master: because, 
according to his view of it, his perfidy, instead of implying that 
he entertained suspicions of his Master's integrity, plainly proves 
that he had the fullest conviction of his being the Messiah. Nor 
was it possible for any one, who had been present at the mira- 
cles which Jesus wrought, and the doctrines which he delivered, 
to admit of a doubt of his being the Son of God, the Saviour of 
mankind; unless blinded by the most obstinate prejudice. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Jesus institutes the Sacrament in commemoration of his Death and 
Sufferings, — Settles a dispute which arose among his Disciples. — 
Predicts Peter's cowardice in denying his Master. — Fortifies his 
Disciples against the approaching shock. — Foretells Peters cowardice 
again. — Preaches to. and prays with, his Disciples for the last 
time. — Passionate address of our Lord to his Father, in the Garden. 

The great Redeemer, ever mindful of the grand design of his 
mission, even the salvation of lost and perishing sinners, was not 
in the least affected by the treachery of his apostate disciple. 
For, knowing that he must become a sacrifice for sin, &c, he 
instituted the sacrament of his supper, to perpetuate the memory 
of it throughout all ages. Accordingly, as they were eating the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



341 



paschal supper, 44 Jesus took bread, and blessed it and brake it, 
and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat: this is my 
body." Matt. xxvi. 26. Observe this rite no longer in remem- 
brance of your deliverance from Egypt, but in remembrance of 
me; who by dying for you, will bring you out of the spiritual 
bondage, a bondage far worse than the Egyptian, under which 
your fathers groaned, and will establish you in the glorious 
liberty of the children of God. Do it in the remembrance of 
me, who, by laying down my life, will ransom you from sin, from 
death, from hell, and will set open the gates of heaven to you, 
that you may enter immortality in triumph. 

Having given the bread to his disciples, he also took the cup, 
and gave it to them, saying, 44 Drink ye all of it; for this is my 
blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, for the 
remission of sins." Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. All of you, and all of my 
disciples, in all ages, must drink of this cup, because it repre- 
sents my blood shed for the remission of the sins of mankind: 
my blood by which the new covenant between God and man is 
ratified. It is, therefore, my blood of the new covenant; so that 
this institution exhibits to your joyful meditation, the grand basis 
of the hopes of the children of men, and perpetuates the memory 
of it to the end of the world. He added, 44 1 will not drink 
henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink 
it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Matt. xxvi. 29. 

The manifestation of the Son of God is the most illustrious, 
the most momentous event that is possible to engage the medita- 
tions of mankind. To his life and death, his resurrection and 
ascension into glory, we are indebted for our hopes and assur- 
ances of pardon, for our peace, for our happiness. To procure 
our benefit, he made the most amazing condescension from the 
dignity he enjoyed with his Father, by putting on the veil of 
flesh; he poured divine instruction from his lips, and shone forth 
with an all-perfect, and all-lovely example. For our benefit, he 
submitted to a course of the most cruel treatment from his bitter 
enemies, to the agonies of the cross, and to the stroke of the 
king of terrors. For our benefit, he arose again with power 
and lustre, ascended into the mansions of eternal happiness, 
manages our affairs with the Almighty, and holdeth the reins of 
government. With the greatest wisdom and goodness, therefore, 
this beneficent Jesus instituted a rite that should recall his love to 
our memories, and awake each pious passion in our breast; a rite, 
which, by the breaking of bread, and the pouring out of wine, 
should represent to us, in a striking manner, that most signal 
proof of the affection both of him and his heavenly Father, when 
his tender frame was exposed to wounds and bruises, when 
streams of the most precious blood issued from his sacred veins. 
The more we reflect on this instance of divine love, the more 



342 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



we shall perceive that there was a peculiar propnetj in pointing 
out by a particular ordinance, a fact of such immense importance 
in the system of revelation. Nay, we may venture to conjecture, 
that in some dark and corrupt ages, when the Scriptures were but 
little known by the common people, and hardly studied by the 
priests, the death of our Saviour would have been almost forgot- 
ten, had not the remembrance of it been renewed by the cele- 
bration of this sacred ordinance. 

It should also be remembered, that the vanities of the world, 
the allurements of sensual pleasure, the charms of ambition, the 
splendor of riches: in short, temptations from present objects of 
every kind, have often too fatal an influence on our temper and 
conduct. They have a fatal aptitude to draw the soul aside to 
folly, and to obliterate the impressions of things divine. It was 
therefore a wise, a kind intention of our great Redeemer, by a 
frequent repetition of the sacramantal feast, to call back the 
wandering heart of man to a sense of his duty and obligations 
as a Christian. 

Besides, though the religion of the immaculate Jesus is alto- 
gether gentle, generous, and beneficent; though its whole ten- 
dency is to correct the passions, sweeten the dispositions, and 
enlarge the affections of men; and though it enforces all this 
upon us by motives surprisingly powerful and affecting; yet such 
is the perverseness of the human heart, that jealousies and con- 
tentions, envy, wrath, and malice, too often find admittance 
there. Was it not then an instance of our Saviour's wisdom and 
benevolence, by uniting us together at the sacrament of his body 
and blood, to urge the putting away all bitterness, anger, evil- 
speaking, and revenge; and to inspire us with condescension, 
compassion, and love? 

How careful, therefore, ought we to be in performing this 
duty appointed by our dying Saviour! We should, in order to 
receive it worthily, employ our meditation on the design and 
excellency of the Gospel; on the noble system of the doctrines 
and duties it contains; on the illustrious, divine, and complete 
example of the blessed Jesus; on the important privileges, the 
valuable promises, and the ravishing prospects his revelation 
affords; and on the bright and convincing evidence with which it 
is attended. 

We should contemplate that essential and unparalleled benev- 
olence of the Father in forming the means of our redemption; 
on the readiness manifested by the Son of God in undertaking 
our cause; and on his wonderful transactions in the prosecution 
of this grand, this amazing work. Above all, we should impress 
upon our souls a strong sense of the special and immediate pur- 
poses for which this sacrament was appointed. 

When we actually join in communion, we should be careful 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



343 



that our affections be properly directed and warmly engaged. 
To have our hearts fixed upon the vanities, the profits, and the 
cares of this world, is a direct violation of the ordinance; and 
therefore we should be extremely careful to maintain a right 
temper and behavior at that time. We should study to abstract 
our thoughts as much as possible from every foreign, every ter- 
restrial consideration, and to have our passions fervently em- 
ployed in the solemn service. "Retire, O my soul (each of us 
should say) from this inferior scene of things; from all its plea- 
sures and all its pursuits, and hold communion with the Almighty, 
and his Son, the immaculate Jesus. Meditate upon that infinite . 
grace of Omnipotence, which formed the amazing plan that 
displayed pardon, peace, and endless happiness, to so undeserv- 
ing a creature as thou art. Recollect that surprising conde- 
scension and tenderness of thy compassionate Redeemer, which 
induced him to bring down from heaven salvation to the sons 
of men. Call to mind the admirable instructions he offered, 
the charming pattern he exhibited, the hard labors and suffer- 
ings he endured, in the course of his ministry: especially, call to 
mind the ignominy, the reproaches, the agonies he endured 
when he hung upon the cross, and purchased for thee eternal 
mercy. Think upon these affecting subjects, till thine heart is 
filled with sorrow for thine iniquities; till thy faith becomes 
lively, active, and fruitful; till thy gratitude and love are eleva- 
ted to the highest pitch; till thy obedience is rendered uniform, 
steady, and complete. Hast thou, O my God, the parent of 
universal nature ! — hast thou so illustriously manifested thy com- 
passion for sinners, as not to spare thine own Son: hast thou sent 
the Saviour into the lower world, in order to raise the children 
of men to immortality, perfection, and glory: and am I now in 
thy presence on purpose to celebrate this institution, which 
requireth me to commemorate the death of the great Messiah; 
to declare my public acceptance of his excellent revelation, and 
my regard to my Christain brethren? May then the remem- 
brance of his beneficence dwell upon my mind, and upon my 
tongue, for ever and ever! May I consider and comply with the 
intention of his Gospel; and may the sentiments of kindness and 
charity towards all my fellow mortals, and fellow disciples, reign 
in my breast, with increasing purity, with increasing zeal." 

Such are the views that should possess our souls, when we 
partake of this sacred ordinance; but it will signify little to 
entertain these views, at that time, unless the effects of them 
are apparent in our future conduct and conversation; for a 
transient flow of affections, or sallies of immediate delight, were 
not principally intended in this institution. 

The blessed Jesus did not ordain it as a ceremony or charm, 
but as a proper method of establishing our hearts in the fear and 

40 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



love of God, who gave his only beloved Son to die for wretched 
sinners. Though ye have, therefore. O Christians! obeyed the 
Redeemer's command in this appointment, and found your pas- 
sions greatly moved, yet this is not the whole required at your 
hands; it will justly be expected that ye should live to the honor 
of your divine Master. As you have solemnly professed your 
faith in him, and your love towards him, the reality of your 
faith and love should be demonstrated by walking more strictly 
in the way of his precepts, and by abounding in that heavenly 
character and temper which his spotless example so engagingly 
recommends. Thus only will the sacrament become subservient 
to the most beneficial purposes. Thus only will it be instru- 
mental in qualifying us for sharing in the dignity and felicity 
possessed by our exalted Saviour. 

May therefore all the followers of the immaculate Jesus, by 
uniting together at his sacred table, advance from holiness to 
holiness, till they arrive at the regions of eternal felicity! 

Our blessed Saviour, after delivering the sacramental cup, and 
telling them that his blood was shed for them, mentioned the 
treachery of Judas a second time: "Behold he is at hand that 
doth betray me." Matt. xxvi. 46. This second declaration was 
made very properly after the institution of the sacrament, which 
exhibits the highest instance of our great Redeemer's love to 
mankind, his dying to obtain the remission of their sins; for it 
abundantly proves that the person who could be deliberately 
guilty of such an injury to so kind a friend, must have been a 
monster, the foulness of whose ingratitude cannot be described 
by the force of language. 

Some of the disciples, particularly struck with horror at the 
thought of Judas' treachery, rebuked him, by asking him, with 
susprise, how he could betray his Master ? This accusation 
Judas no doubt repelled, by impudently denying the fact: but 
consciousness of guilt giving edge to the reproaches of his breth- 
ren, and to every circumstance of the affair, he immediately left 
the company, exceedingly displeased at thinking himself insulted 
and affronted. 

The important, the awful scene now approached, when the 
great work was to be finished. The traitor, Judas, was gone to 
the chief priests and elders, for a band of soldiers to apprehend 
him; but this did not discompose the Redeemer of mankind: he 
took occasion to meditate on the glory that would accrue, both 
to himself and the Almighty, from those sufferings, and spake of 
it to his disciples. " Now,*' said he, " is the Son of Man glori- 
fied, and God is glorified in him." He told them that, having 
already done honor to his Father by the past actions of his life, 
and being about to honor him yet farther by his sufferings and 
death, which would display his perfections, particularly his imi- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



345 



nite love to the human race, in the most astonishing and amiable 
ijght, he was in his turn to receive honor from his Father; inti- 
mating that his human nature was to be exalted to the right 
hand of Omnipotence; and that his mission from God was to be 
supported by irrefragable attestations. But his disciples, imagin- 
ing that he spake of the glory of a temporal kingdom, their 
ambition was again revived, and they began to dispute with as 
much keenness as ever, which of them should be the greatest in 
that kingdom. This contention Jesus suppressed by the argu- 
ments he had formerly used for the same purpose. Among the 
Gentiles, said he, they are reckoned the greatest who have the 
greatest power, and have exercised it in the most absolute man- 
ner: but your greatness shall be very different from theirs; it 
shall not consist in being unlimited with regard to tyrannical 
power, even though it should be joined with an affectation of 
titles, which denote qualities truly honorable; but whosoever 
desires to be great, or chief among you, let him be so by his 
humility, and the service he renders to the rest, in imitation of 
me, your Master, whose greatness consists in this, that I am be- 
come the servant of you all. Adding, as they had continued 
with him in this temptation, he would bestow upon them such a 
kingdom as his Father had appointed for him. At the same time, 
to check their ambition, and lead them to form a just notion of 
his kingdom, he told them, that he was soon to leave them, and 
that whither he was going, they could not at that time follow him; 
for which reason, instead of contending with one another which 
of them should be the greatest, they would do well to be united 
among themselves, in the happy bond of love. For by loving 
one another sincerely and fervently, they would prove them- 
selves his disciples, to the conviction of mankind, who could not 
be ignorant that love was a distinguishing part of his character. 

This is termed a new commandment, not because mutual love 
had never been enjoined to mankind before, but because it was 
a precept of peculiar excellency : for the word, translated new, 
in the Hebrew language, denotes excellency and truth; he also 
called this a new commandment, because they were to exercise 
it under a new relation, according to a new measure, and from 
new motives. They were to love one another, in the relation of 
his disciples, and in that degree of love which he had showed to 
them; for they were to lay down their lives for their brethren. 

This excellent doctrine, however, did not make such an im- 
pression on Peter, as the words which Jesus had spoken concern- 
ing a place whither his disciples could not come. He therefore 
replied by asking where he was going. To which Jesus an- 
swered, "Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou 
shalt follow me afterward." 

In order to make his disciples farther humble, watchful, and 



346 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



kindly affectionate one towards another, he assured them that 
Satan was seeking to ruin them all by his temptations: "And 
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have 
you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee 
that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren." Peter was greatly offended that his Master 
should have singled him out as the weakest; for so he inter- 
preted his praying for him particularly; and supposing that he 
mentioned Satan's seeking to sift him, as the thing which would 
hinder him from following his Master, replied, Why cannot I 
follow thee now? Is there any road more terrible than the 
dark valley of the shadow of death? Yet through these black 
and gloomy shades, I am willing this moment to accompany 
thee. 

Jesus knowing his weak, though sincere resolution, answered, 
Art thou so very confident of thine own strength? I tell thee, 
that this very night, before the cock crows, thou shalt thrice 
deny me to be thy Master. 

Our blessed Saviour having finished what he had to say to 
Peter in particular, turned himself to his other disciples, and put 
them in mind that when they were first sent out, he directed 
them to rely wholly upon the Almighty for assistance. When I 
sent you formerly, said he, to preach the Gospel, you may re- 
member I ordered you to go without any provision, either for 
your sustenance or defence, assuring you, that though you would 
indeed meet with great opposition, yet Providence would dis- 
pose some men in all places to be your friends, and to furnish 
you with all necessaries; and accordingly you found that you 
wanted for nothing, but were wonderfully supported, without 
any care or provision of your own, in the whole journey, and 
finished your work with success. But now the case is very dif- 
ferent: the time of that greatest trial and distress, whereof I 
have often forewarned you, is just at hand: and you may now 
make all the provision in your power, and arm yourselves 
against it, as much as you are able. 

I have finished the work for which I was sent into the world: 
and nothing now remains for me, but to undergo those sufferings 
which the prophets have foretold concerning me, and to com- 
plete this whole dispensation of Providence, by submitting at 
last to a cruel and ignominious death. 

The disciples, thinking their great Master meant that they 
should arm themselves in a literal sense, and endeavor to oppose 
the assaults that would shortly be made upon them by the Jews, 
answered, "Lord, here are two swords:" but the blessed Jesus, 
who only intended to convey an idea of their approaching dis- 
tress and temptations, and to arm them against the surprise, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



347 



replied, "It is enough;" you need not trouble yourselves about 
any more weapons of this nature for your defence. 

Be not terrified and disconsolate, added the compassionate 
Jesus, because I have told you that I must undergo great suffer- 
ings, and be taken away from you for a time. You have always 
been taught to believe in God, who is the Almighty Preserver 
and Governor of all things; and to rely on him for deliverance, 
in every affliction and distress. 

Learn, now, in like manner, to believe in me, who have all 
power committed to me, as a preserver and head of my church: 
and trust in me to accomplish fully all things that I have pro- 
mised you. If you do this, and persist steadfastly in the belief 
of my doctrine, and in the obediance of my commands, nothing 
in this vale of misery, not even persecution, or death itself, shall 
be able to hinder you from attaining the happiness I have pro- 
posed to you. For in heaven, my Father's house, there is abun- 
dant room to receive you: otherwise I would not have filled 
your minds with the hopes and expectation of happiness. But as 
there are mansions sufficient for you in another state, you may 
with confidence and assurance, hope for the full accomplishment 
of my promises, notwithstanding all this present world may con- 
trive or act against you. And ye ought also to bear patiently 
my departure from you, at this time; since I only leave you to 
prepare a place, and open the portals of those eternal habita- 
tions where I shall be ever with you. When I have prepared 
a place for you in that eternal state, I will again return, and 
take you to myself. Nor shall you ever more be separated from 
me, but continue with me to all eternity, in full participation of 
my eternal glory and happiness, in the blissful regions of the 
heavenly Canaan. You must now surely know whither I am 
going, and the way that leads to these happy seats of immor- 
tality. 

But the disciples, whose minds were not yet fully weaned from 
the expectation of a temporal power and glory, did not under- 
stand this discourse of their great and beloved Master. Accord- 
ingly, Thomas replied, Lord, we cannot comprehend whither 
thou art going; and therefore must needs be ignorant of the 
way. 

To which the blessed Jesus answered, I myself, as I have often 
told you, am the true and only way to life; nor can any man 
go thither by any other way. If ye say, you do not know the 
Father, I tell you, that no man who knoweth me, can be igno- 
rant of my Father, of his will, and the manner of pleasing him: 
if ye know me, you must know that all my actions have been 
directed by the will of the Father, and for the glory of his name. 

Philip answered, Lord, show us but once the Father, and we 
shall be fully satisfied. 



348 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Jesus replied, Have I been so long with you, Philip, and yet 
thou art a stranger to him who sent me? I tell you, that to 
know one, is to be acquainted with both. What then can you 
mean by desiring to see the Father, as if you could be still igno- 
rant of him, after being so long acquainted with me? Be as- 
sured, Philip, that whatsoever 1 speak is the declaration of his 
will, and whatsoever I do is the operation of his power. And if 
you refuse to believe my own affirmation, yet, at least, let my 
works convince you; for they carry in them undeniable eviden- 
ces of a divine power. "He that believeth on me, the works 
that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he 
do, because I go unto my Father." John, xiv. 12. 

Surely then, ye have matter sufficient to comfort and support 
your spirits, under the thoughts of my departure from you. Ye 
have abundant reason to believe that I have power to perform 
all the promises I have made you; and the design of my depar- 
ture actually to perform them. When I am returned to my 
Father, ye shall soon receive sufficient pleges of my care and 
remembrance of you. Ye shall be endued with power not only 
to perform the same works ye have seen me do, as healing 
diseases, giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, and the 
like, for the conviction of the Jews: but even to do greater 
things than these; to speak with all kinds of tongues, and to pro- 
pagate my religion among the Gentiles, even through all the 
nations of the earth. 

And whatsoever ye shall ask of my Father, in my name, as 
being my disciples, and in order to promote the work of the 
Gospel, shall certainly be granted you. That God may be 
greatly glorified by the extraordinary success and spreading of 
the religion of his Son, I say, that whatsoever ye shall ask, I will 
take care, after my return to the Father, that it shall be granted 
you. Only ye must remember, as the necessary condition upon 
which all depends, that ye be careful, above all things, to con- 
tinue steadfast and immovable in your obedience to my com- 
mands: this is the only true mark you can give of the sincerity 
of your love towards me; it is more than your grieving at my 
departure, or any other external indication of zeal whatsoever. 

The Father, I say, shall send you another advocate and com- 
forter, even his Holy Spirit, the author and teacher of truth, 
who shall guide and direct, assist and comfort you in all cases. 
This Spirit the sensual and corrupt world cannot receive; hav- 
ing no knowledge of the divine truths or disposition to be gov- 
erned by them. But ye know them, and are disposed to enter- 
tain them. The Spirit of the Father is already within you, by 
the secret and invisible efficacy: and shall hereafter appear in 
you openly, by great and visible manifestations. 

Thus, though I must depart from you, yet I do by no means 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



349 



leave you comfortless. I leave you with a promise of the Holy 
Spirit; and I leave you in expectation also of my own return. 
For though, after a very little while, I shall appear no more to 
the world, yet to you I will appear again; for I shall live again, 
and ye also shall live with me. 

When, therefore, I have conquered and triumphed over death, 
ye shall understand more fully, and it shall appear more visible, 
by great and manifest effects, that I act in all things agreeably 
to my Father's will, and am perfectly invested with his power; 
and that ye in like manner, have my power and commission 
communicated to you; so that there is a perfect unity and com- 
munion between us. Only ye must remember, that the one 
necessary condition on which all depends, is, that ye continue 
steadfast and immovable in your faith in me, and in your obedi- 
ence to my commands. He, and he only, who embraces my 
doctrine, and obeys and practices it, shall be judged to be sin- 
cere in his love towards me. And he who loves me in that 
manner, shall be loved by my Father; and I myself also will 
love him, and manifest myself to him. 

Here Judas Thaddeus interrupted his Master, saying, Lord, 
why wilt thou choose to manifest thyself to us, a few particular 
persons, and not to the generality of the world? 

Jesus replied, I have already told you the reason for my act- 
ing in this manner; because the generality of the world are not 
disposed to obey my commandments, the necessary condition of 
maintaining communion with me. But ye are disposed to em- 
brace my doctrine, and to obey it; and, therefore, I manifest 
myself to you. And whoever else will so love me as to keep my 
commandments, him also will I and my Father love, and will 
maintain communion with him, and all spiritual blessings shall 
be poured down upon him, and he shall be made partaker of 
happiness and eternal life. 

On tbe contrary, whoever loves me not, that is, obeys not my 
commandments, shall have no intercourse or communion with 
me. Neither will rny Father love or honor him, or make any 
manifestations of himself to him; for as my commandments are 
not my own, but the Fathers commandments; therefore, who- 
ever dishonors me, my Father will look upon him as dishonor- 
ing himself 

These things have I briefly spoken to you now, according to 
the shortness of the time I am to continue with you, and to com- 
fort you for the present, against my departure. But when the 
Comforter whom I promised you, is come, even the Holy Spirit, 
whom my Father shall send you on my account, he shall instruct 
you more fully, recalling to your remembrance what you have 
forgotten, explaining what is yet obscure, and supplying what is 
farther necessary to be taught you, and to be understood by you. 



350 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



In the mean time I take my leave of you, and my blessing I 
leave with you: not formally, and after the common fashion of 
the world, but affectionately and sincerely; retaining a careful 
remembrance of you, and with an earnest desire and intention 
of returning again speedily to you. Wherefore, be not over- 
much grieved for me and my departure, nor fearful of what may 
then befall yourselves. I go away from you, but it is with an 
intention as I have already told you, to return to you again. If 
you loved me with a wise and understanding affection, ye would 
rejoice, instead of grieving at my present departure; because I 
am going to my Father, the supreme author of all glory and 
happiness. 

These things I have now told you before they come to pass, 
that when ye see them happen, your faith in me," and your ex- 
pectation of the performance of all my promises, may be con- 
firmed and strengthened: the time will not allow me to say much 
more to you, at present: my end draweth near, the ruler of this 
world, the prince of the power of darkness, is at this instant 
employing all his wicked instruments to apprehend and destroy 
me. Not that either the power of the devil, or the malice of 
man, can at all prevail over me, but because the time of my suf- 
fering, according to the appointment of divine wisdom, is arrived; 
and that I may demonstrate to the world my love and obedience 
to my Father, I willingly submit myself to be put to death by the 
hands of sinful and cruel men. Rise up, let us be going, that I 
may enter on my sufferings. 

Having thus spoken, they finished the passover, with singing a 
hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives. 

On their arrival at the place, which was to be the scene of his 
sufferings, he desired them to fortify themselves by prayer, and 
forewarned them of the terrible effects his sufferings would have 
upon them: they would make them all stumble, that very night, 
agreeably to the prophecy of Zechariah: "I will smile the 
shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad," 
To strengthen their faith, therefore, he not only mentioned his 
own resurrection, but told them they should see him in Galilee, 
after he was risen from the dead. 

On our blessed Saviour's mentioning the offence that his dis- 
ciples would take at his suffering, Peter recollected what had 
been said to him in particular, before they left the house. 
Grieved, therefore, afresh, to find his Master entertain such 
thoughts of him, and being now armed with a sword, the vehe- 
mence of his temper urged him to boast a second time of his 
courageous and close attachment to his Master. "Though all 
men," said he, " should be offended because of thee, yet will I 
never be offended." But Jesus knowing that human confidence 
and security were weak and frail, thought proper to forewarn 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



351 



him again of his danger, and told him, that the cock should not 
crow before he had denied him. 

Peter, however, still continued to repeat his confidence, I will 
die with thee, but never deny thee. The disciples all joined 
with Peter in professing their fixed resolution of suffering death, 
rather than they would deny their Master; but the event fully 
confirmed the prediction of our Saviour. From hence we may 
learn, how ignorant men are of their own hearts, and that the 
strongest resolutions in their own strength avail nothing. 

The compassionate Redeemer of mankind, not willing to lose 
one single moment of the short time of his ministry that yet 
remained, continued to instruct his disciples in the great truths 
he came into the world to explain: and from the vines which 
were growing round him on the Mount of Olives, he began his 
excellent discourse, with the parable of the vine, to the following 
import. 

Hitherto, said the blessed Jesus, the Jewish church and nation 
have been the peculiar care of Providence; as a choice and 
goodly vine, likely to bring forth much fruit, is the special care 
of the husbandman. But from henceforth, my church, my dis- 
ciples, and the professors of my religion, of what country or 
nation soever they be, shall become the people of God, and the 
peculiar care of divine Providence. I will be to them as the 
root and stock of a vine, of which they are the branches, and 
my Father the husbandman and vine dresser. 

As in the management of a choice vine, the skillful vine dresser 
cuts off all barren and superfluous branches, that they may not 
burden nor exhaust the tree, and prunes and dresses the fruitful 
branches, that they may grow continually, and bear more fruit; 
so, in the government of my church, all useless, wicked, and 
incorrigible members, my Father, by his judgment, cuts off and 
destroys; but those who are sincerely pious and good, he, by the 
various and merciful dispensations of his Providence towards 
them, tries, purifies, and amends, that they may daily improve, 
and be more and more abundant in all good works. 

Now ye, my apostles, are such members as these, being puri- 
fied in heart and mind, and prepared for every good work, by 
your lively faith in me, and sincere resolutions to obey my com- 
mands. Continue steadfastly in this state, and then you may be 
sure of deriving all spiritual blessings from me, as the branches 
receive sap and nourishment from the vine. But as a branch, 
without continuing in the vine, cannot bear any fruit, but pre- 
sently dries up and perishes; so, ye, unless ye continue steadfast 
in your communion with me, by a lively faith and sincere obe- 
dience, so as to receive grace and spiritual blessings, can never 
bring forth any good fruit of true holiness and righteousness, but 

41 



352 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



will fall into vanity, superstition, and wickedness, and, at last, 
utterly perish. 

I am, as it were, I say, the root and stock of the vine, whereof 
ye are the branches. He that continues to adhere to me, by a 
constant faith in me, shall bring forth much fruit unto everlasting 
life; even as a branch which continues to grow in a vine, and 
receives sap and nourishment from it. But he that does not 
continue his relation to me in this manner, is a false and useless 
professor, and shall be cast out from me, and perish forever; even 
as a fruitless branch is cut off from the vine, and left to wither 
and dry, and is, at last, burned in the fire. 

If you continue in me, by believing my words, and holding fast 
what ye believe, and obeying and practicing it accordingly; no 
power or malice, either of man or of devil?, shall be able to hurt 
you, or oppose your doctrines. For though I be absent from you 
in body, yet I will hear your prayers, and my Father himself, 
also, will hear you: and whatsoever ye shall ask. for the glory 
of the Almighty, and the propagation of my true religion in the 
world, shall certainly be granted you. But above all things 
carefully remember to demonstrate your continuance in me, by 
abounding in all good works of holiness, righteousness, and 
charity. This is the honor which my Father desires and expects 
from you; even as it is the glory and desire of a vine-dresser, 
that his vine should bring forth much fruit. And this is the honor 
that I myself expect from you, that ye should prove yourselves 
to be really and indeed my disciples, by imitating my example, 
and obeying my commands. This ye are bound to do, not only 
in duty, but in gratitude also: for as my Father hath loved me, 
so have I also loved you; and ye in like manner ought to love me 
again, that you may continue to be loved by me. But the way 
to express your love towards me, and to continue to be loved by 
me, is to keep my commandments; even as I, by keeping my 
Fathers commandments, have expressed my love towards him, 
and continue to be loved by him. 

These things have I spoken to you before my departure, that 
the comfort ye have taken in my presence, may be continued in 
my absence, and even increased to the coming of the Holy 
Spirit, as it will be upon this condition, which I have so often 
repeated to you, that you keep my commandments. And the 
principal of these commandments is, that ye love one another; 
not after the common fashion of the world, but in such a manner 
as I have loved you; nor can you be ignorant what sort of love 
that is, when I tell you that I am now going to lay down my life 
for you. This is the highest instance, in which it is possible for 
a man to express his love towards his greatest friends and bene- 
factors: but this I am now going to do for you, and for all man- 
kind. I do not consider you as my benefactors, but as my friends, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 353 

upon this condition, only, that ye keep my commandments. I 
might, indeed, justly call you servants, considering the infinite 
distance between me and you, and the obligation ye have to 
obey my commandments; but I have not treated you as servants 
who are not admitted into their Masters counsels, but as friends, 
revealing to you the whole will of my Father, with all freedom 
and plainness 

I have, I say, behaved myself to you, as to the nearest friends. 
Not that you first obliged me, or did any acts of kindness for me, 
but I have freely, and of my own good pleasure, chosen you to 
be my apostles, and the preachers of my Gospel, that you may 
go and declare the will of God to the world, and bring forth 
much and lasting fruit in the conversion of men to the knowledge 
of the truth, and to the profession and practice of true religion 
and virtue. In the performance of this work, whatsoever ye 
shall ask of my Father, in my name, in order to enable you to 
perform it effectually and with full success, shall certainly be 
granted you. 

Now all these things which I have spoken unto you concern- 
ing the greatness of my love towards you, in choosing you to be 
apostles, in revealing unto you the whole will of my Father, and 
in laying down my life for you; I have urged and inculcated 
upon you for this reason chiefly, as I at first told you, that ye 
may learn, after my example, to "love one another." The 
world, indeed, you must expect will hate and persecute you, 
upon my account. But this you ought not to be surprised or 
terrified at, knowing that it is no worse treatment than I myself 
have met with before you. 

Be not, therefore, surprised when ye meet with opposition; 
nor think to find better treatment in the world than I myself 
have done. Remember what I have already told you, that the 
disciple is not above his Master; nor is he that is sent greater 
than he that sent him. If men had generally and readily em- 
braced my doctrine, you might, indeed, have had some reason to 
expect that they would willingly have received your's also. But 
since I myself have suffered great indignities and persecutions 
from wicked and perverse, from obstinate and incorrigible men, 
only for opposing their vices, it is highly reasonable that you 
should expect to undergo the like treatment upon the like ac- 
count. In all which sufferings you will, moreover, have this 
further comfortable consideration to support you, that the justice 
of your own cause, and the injustice of your persecutors, will by 
that means most evidently appear; seeing ye are persecuted 
only for professing and preaching in my name the doctrine of 
true religion and virtue; and they persecute you only because 
they know not God, and out of mere malice will not bear to be 
instructed in his commands. 



354 



LIFE OF CHSIST. 



Indeed, had not I appeared to the world with all possible de- 
monstrations of authority and truth, teaching men a most holy 
and undeniable doctrine, sufficient to reform their manners and 
amend their lives, and moreover demonstrating my divine com- 
mission by such proofs as ought to satisfy and convince the most 
doubting and suspicious minds, they might have had some plea 
and excuse of ignorance for their unbelief. But now, since all 
reasonable evidence has been offered them, and proper methods 
used for their conversion and salvation, and yet they willfully 
and obstinately reject these means of grace, it is plain they 
have no excuse for their sin; but they oppose and persecute 
you only because they will not forsake their worldly lusts, and 
out of mere malice will not bear to be instructed in the com- 
mands of the Almighty. So that they who oppose and perse- 
cute you, as they have before persecuted me, show plainly that 
they are haters of God, and of his most holy commandments. 
Which is, as I have already told you, a plain evidence of the 
justice of your own cause, and of the injustice of your perse- 
cutors. 

If I had not, I say, done such works among them as no man 
ever did, they might, indeed, have had some appearance of ex- 
cuse for their sin. But now, having seen abundant proofs of my 
authority, and undeniable evidence of the truth of my doctrine, 
and yet willfully and obstinately persisting to oppose it, because 
inconsistent with their lusts, it is plain that their dishonoring me 
is a dishonor done to God himself, and a direct contempt of his 
commands: so that they are utterly inexcusable. But it is no 
wonder, when men have given themselves wholly up to be gov- 
erned by worldly affections, passions, and vices, they should act 
contrary to all the reason and evidence in the world. For this 
is but the natural consequence of obstinate and habitual wicked- 
ness; and hereby is only fulfilled in me what holy David long 
since prophetically complained of, that they hated him without 
a cause. 

But notwithstanding all the opposition that wicked and incor- 
rigible men will make against my doctrine, there will not be 
wanting powerful promoters of it, who shall effectually over- 
come all opposition. For the Comforter, whom I said I will 
send you from heaven, even that "spirit of truth," which cometh 
forth, and is sent from the Father, shall, when he cometh, with 
wonderful efficacy bear testimony to the truth of my doctrine, 
and cause it to be spread through the world with incredible suc- 
cess. Nay, and ye yourselves, also, though now so weak, fear- 
ful, and doubting, shall then very powerfully bear testimony to 
the truth of all the things, whereof ye, having been all along 
present with me, have been eye witnesses from the beginning. 

Thus have I warned you, beforehand, of the opposition and 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



355 



persecution ye must expect to meet with in the world, that 
when it cometh, ye may not be surprised and terrified, so as to 
be discouraged thereby from persisting in the performance of 
your duty. 

Ye must expect, particularly, that the chief priests, and rulers 
of the Jews, men of great hypocrisy and superstition, zealous for 
their ceremonies and ritual traditions, but careless to know and 
obey the will of Omnipotence in matters of great and eternal 
obligation, and invincibly prejudiced against the spiritual holi- 
ness and purity of my doctrine; these, I say, you must expect 
will excommunicate you as apostates, and cast you out of all 
their societies, as the vilest of malefactors. Nay, to such an 
absurd height of malice will their superstition carry them, that 
they will even fancy they promote the service of God, and the 
cause of religion, when they most barbarously murder and de- 
stroy you. But I have warned you of all this beforehand, that 
ye may prepare and fortify yourselves against it; and that when 
it cometh to pass, ye may remember, I foretold it to you, and 
your faith in me may thereby be strengthened. 

It was needless to acquaint you with these scenes of suffer- 
ings, while I was with you: but now being about to leave you, 
I think it necessary to acquaint you what things are likely to 
come upon you after my departure, and also, at the same time, 
what comfort you may expect to support you under them. 

Now I must mention the melancholy part, namely, that I am 
going from you, and that great temptations will befall you in 
my absence; this, indeed, ye readily apprehend, and suffer your- 
selves to be overwhelmed with grief at the thoughts of it. But 
the comfortable part of my discourse, namely, that my depar- 
ture is only in order to return to him that sent me, and that I 
will soon after send you the Holy Spirit, and the other advan- 
tages that will thence result to you, are neither considered, nor 
are you solicitous about them. Nevertheless, if ye will listen, I 
will plainly tell you the truth. Ye are so far from having rea- 
son to be dejected at the thoughts of my departure, that, on the 
contrary, it is really profitable and expedient for you, that I 
should now depart: for such is the order and dispensation of 
Providence towards you, and the appointment of my Father's 
eternal and all-wise counsel, that before 1 go and take posses- 
sion of my kingdom, the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, 
cannot be sent unto you; but when I am departed from you, 
and have all power in heaven and in earth committed unto me, 
then I will send him unto you. And when he cometh, he shall 
abundantly support and comfort you under all your troubles; 
shall powerfully plead your cause against your adversaries; and 
shall, with wonderful efficacy, cause the doctrine of the Gospel 
to spread and prevail in the world, against all opposition. He 



356 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



shall particularly, and in a most extraordinary and convincing 
manner, make the world sensible of the greatness and heinous- 
ness of a sin of which they were not aware; of the righteous- 
ness and justice of a dispensation they did not understand, and 
of the execution of a most remarkable judgment they did not 
expect. 

First, by wonderfully attesting and confirming the truth of my 
doctrine, by the gift of tongues, and other wonderful signs, he 
shall convince the world of the greatness and heinousness of 
their sins in disbelieving and rejecting me. 

Secondly, by demonstrating that my departure out of the 
world, was not perishing and dying, but only a returning to my 
Father, in order to be invested with all power both in heaven 
and earth; he shall convince the world of the righteousness and 
justice of my cause, and of the excellency of that dispensation 
which I preach and declare to mankind. 

Lastly, by mightily destroying the power of the devil and 
dominion of sin, and propagating the doctrine of true religion 
in the world, with wonderful efficacy and success, he shall 
convince men of my power and authority to execute judgment 
upon mine enemies, for the establishment of my kingdom upon 
earth. 

There are yet many other things hereafter to be done in re- 
lation to the settling and establishing of my church, which, if it 
were proper, I would now acquaint you with; but ye are not 
yet prepared to understand and receive them. 

Howbeit, when the Spirit of truth, whom I promised you, is 
come, that shall enlarge your understandings, remove your pre- 
judices, and instruct you in all necessary and divine truths, to 
enable you to go through that great work which I have begun 
in person, and which I will carry on by your ministry, for the 
Spirit is not to begin any new work, or to found any new 
doctrine of himself. But as I have taught, and will teach you, 
only in my Father's name, so the Spirit shall instruct you only 
in mine and my Father's will, and in things necessary to pro- 
mote and carry on the same design. 

Every thing that he does shall be only in order to manifest 
my glory, and establish my religion in the world: even as every 
thing that I have done has been only to manifest my Fathers 
glory and reveal his will to mankind. For as all that I have 
taught, is only what I received from my Father, so all that the 
Spirit shall teach you, is only what he receives from me. 

Whatsoever I say, the Spirit shall teach you, is only what he 
receives from me; for receiving from my Father, I call receiv- 
ing from me, and teaching his will is teaching mine; seeing all 
things that the Father hath are common to me, and all power 
and dominion by him committed to me. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



357 



And now be careful to remember what matter for comfort I 
have given you, and support yourselves with it under the ap- 
proaching distress. It is now, indeed, but a very little while 
before I shall be taken away from you; nevertheless, let not 
this cause you to despair; for, after I am departed, it will be 
also a little while before I appear to you again; forasmuch as 
my being taken away from you, is not perishing, but only re- 
turning to my Father. 

At these last words of Jesus, the disciples were greatly dis- 
turbed and troubled, not understanding his true meaning, that in 
a very short time he should be taken from them by death; and 
that after having overcome death, by a glorious resurrection, he 
would appear to them again, before his ascension into heaven. 
Not understanding this, I say, they inquired one of another, 
What can he mean by telling us, that in a very little time he 
shall be taken out of our sight; and that in a very little time more 
we shall see him again, and this because he goeth to the Father? 
We cannot understand the meaning of all this. 

Jesus, observing their perplexity, and knowing that they were 
desirous of asking him, replied, Why are ye thus disturbed and 
perplexed about what I told you? Is it a thing so very hard to 
be understood, that I said, within a very little time I should be 
taken away from you, and that within a very little time more, I 
should appear to you again? Verily, verily, I tell you I must 
very soon depart out of this world. Then the world, who are 
your enemies, will rejoice and triumph over you, as if they had 
destroyed me, and wholly suppressed you; and ye, for your parts, 
will be overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. But within a short 
time I will return to you again; and then your sorrow shall be 
turned into exceeding great joy. 

Even as a woman when she is in labor, hath great pain and 
sorrow for the present, but as soon as she is delivered, forgets all 
her sufferings, and rejoices greatly at the birth of her son; so ye, 
while ye are under the immediate apprehension of my departure 
from you, and during that time of distress and temptation, which 
shall befall you in my absence, will be full of sorrow and anxiety 
of mind: but when I return to you again, then shall ye rejoice 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and no power or malice 
of man shall ever be able to take from you any more the cause 
or continuance of it. 

But though I shall return to you again, and your hearts will 
thereupon be filled with inexpressible joy, and which never shall 
be taken from you any more; yet there will be no necessity that 
I should then continue long with you in person, to instruct you 
upon every occasion, as I have now done, with my own mouth. 
For besides that the holy spirit will be sent to instruct you in all 
things necessary, my Father himself also will hear your petitions 



358 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and be ready to grant you whatsoever you shall desire of him in 
my name^ and as being my disciples. 

Hitherto ye have asked nothing of God in my name; but from 
henceforth put up your petitions in my name; and whatsoever 
ye shall so ask for the glory of God, and in order to enable you 
to go through the work of your ministry successfully, shall cer- 
tainly be granted you: that your joy, which will begin at my 
appearing to you again after my death, may be completed by the 
wonderful success and efficacy of your own ministry. 

These things I have told you at present, imperfectly and ob- 
scurely, according as your capacities are able to bear them. 
But the time is coming, when I will speak to you with more 
openness, freedom, and plainness, the whole will of my Father 
concerning the nature and establishment of my kingdom, and 
what things, and in what manner ye ought to pray unto him for. 

At that time ye shall with firm assurance pray to my Father 
in my name for what ye want. And I need not tell you, that 
I will intercede with the Father on your behalf; for besides the 
love he has borne for me, and the power and authority my 
prayers have with him, he has moreover of himself a great love 
for you, and a ready disposition to grant your prayers, because 
ye are become grateful and acceptable to him, by your love 
towards me, which ye have shown in embracing willingly that 
holy doctrine which I have revealed to you from him. 

To conclude: the sum of what I have told you is briefly and 
plainly this. I came down from heaven from God my Father, 
and have lived upon earth in the state of frail and mortal man, 
that I might reveal to mankind the will of my heavenly Father, 
and the way to attain eternal life and happiness; and now hav- 
ing finished this great work, I am about to leave this world, and 
return again to my Father, from whence I at first came. 

These last words of Jesus, being more plain and express than 
any he had before spoken, so that now the disciples clearly per- 
ceived, that the departure he had so often mentioned was no 
other than his actual going out of this world, they replied, Now, 
Lord, you speak plainly and without any figure; so that we 
apprehend fully what you mean. And now that our curiosity is 
satisfied, you have likewise greatly confirmed our faith: having 
given us a certain token whereby we are assured that you know 
all things, even the hearts and secret thoughts of men; since you 
have answered us a question which gave us great perplexity, 
and we were desirous to ask your opinion, but were afraid; but 
now we are convinced that you are endued with a truly divine 
power, and did, indeed, come forth from God. 

To which Jesus answered, And do you now at length firmly 
believe in me? Are ye resolved to continue steadfast in this 
faith? Do you think yourselves able to persevere immoveably 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



359 



in the profession of it? Be not confident of jour own strength; 
but pray that ye may be delivered from temptation in the time of 
distress, such as will come upon you much sooner than ye expect. 
For I tell you, that ye will all of you, within a few hours, utterly 
forsake me, and fly in hopes to secure yourselves, leaving me 
alone. And yet 1 should not say alone, since my Father is with 
me, who is more than all. 

I have, therefore, acquainted you with these things before- 
hand, that your minds may be furnished with sufficient matter of 
comfort and strength to bear up under all temptations, from the 
consideration of my having foretold both what distress will befall 
you, and how ye shall terminate your victory over all 3 our 
enemies. You must, indeed, expect to meet with much afflic- 
tion; but let not this discourage you: I have subdued the world; 
follow my example, and partake of my reward. 

Having thus finished this discourse, "Jesus lifted up his eyes 
to heaven; and prayed" with great fervency to his Father; the 
prayer itself is recorded in the xviith chapter of John, the sub- 
stance and import of it is as follows: 44 Oh Almighty Father, 
now the time of my suffering, for which I was sent into the 
world, is arrived; I entreat thee support me under it, and make 
me triumph over death by a glorious resurrection, and ascension 
into heaven; that by (his means the glory may redound to thee, 
and cause thy will to be believed and obeyed through all the 
world, to the salvation of mankind; according to the full intent 
of that office and power with which thou didst originally invest 
me. In order to the bringing about this great design of salva- 
tion, I have declared thy will to mankind. I have published thy 
precepts, and discharged the great mission intrusted to me; I 
have preached thy doctrine of repentance to salvation, and have 
finished the work, which thou sentest me to do, to the glory of 
thy name upon earth; and now, to complete the great design, do 
thou, O Almighty Father, likewise glorify me with thine own self. 
Support me under my sufferings; let me prevail and triumph over 
death, by a glorious resurrection, and exalt me again to the same 
glory in heaven, which I had with thee before the creation of the 
universe. I have manifested thy will to the disciples, the men 
that thou gavest me out of the world. To those persons thou 
didst in thine infinite wisdom appoint, that thy truth should be 
made known. Therefore to them I have revealed the mysteries 
of thy kingdom, the precepts of thy Gospel, and the doctrine of 
thy savlation. 

"And this doctrine they have willingly embraced, steadfastly 
adhered to, and sincerely obeyed; as they are fully satisfied and 
convinced, that what I taught them as from thee was really a 
divine doctrine, taught by thine immediate appointment and 
command; and that I did not preach any human invention or 

42 



360 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



institution of men, but was really sent by the divine authority 
and commission. 

"For these persons, therefore, I now pray, that as thou hast 
begun the work of their salvation, by my preaching and reveal- 
ing to them thy will, while I have been present with them here 
upon earth, so also that thou wouldst preserve them when 1 am 
departed from this world, and complete the work of their salva- 
tion by my resurrection and ascension into heaven, after my 
death. I do not pray for the unbelieving impenitent world, but 
for those who have embraced that most holy doctrine, which thou 
hast taught them through me by my preaching; for those who 
have glorified, and will glorify my name, by their ministry, and 
who consequently are to be esteemed as thine own, in common 
with me. I am now about to leave the world, in order to return 
to thee, but these my disciples, who continue after me, I recom- 
mend to thy divine protection, when I am gone: endue them 
with powers to persevere in preaching and practicing the truth, 
and to deliver the same holy doctrines which I have given to 
them, that so they may remain inseparably united to me, as I am 
to thee. So long as I have been with them in the world, I have 
watched over them, and kept them from falling away, both by 
example, preaching, and continual admonition, according to the 
power and authority which thou didst commit to me; nor has any 
one of my apostles miscarried under my care, except that per- 
fidious traitor, who, as the Scripture foretold, has ungratefully 
conspired with my enemies to destroy me, and will perish accord- 
ing to his deserts. While I have continued with my disciples, 
I have watched over them and preserved them under mine own 
eye; but now, as I am going to leave the world, I beseech thee 
to keep and assist them by thy good Spirit, and let the expecta- 
tion of their continuing under thy special care and protection, 
be their comfort and support in my absence. The world, indeed, 
will persecute and hate them on this account, as my doctrine is 
repugnant to their lusts and appetites, the passions, designs and 
inclinations of worldly men; it must necessarily be that the 
vicious and incorrigible world will oppose and persecute them, 
as it has before persecuted me. I beseech thee, therefore, take 
them under thy particular care, to support them against the vio- 
lence and oppression of an evil world. I do not desire that thou 
shouldst take them out of the world, but preserve them in it to 
be instruments of thy word, thy glory, and to be teachers of thy 
truth; nor suffer them to be either destroyed by the malice and 
violence, or corrupted by the evil customs and opinions, of a per- 
verse and wicked generation. 

" They are of a temper and spirit very different from the cur- 
rent affections and common dispositions of the world, according 
to the example of purity which I have set before them. Do 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



361 



thou preserve and increase in them that moderation and candor 
of mind, cause them to be thoroughly affected and impressed 
with that true doctrine so frequently recommended to them from 
my mouth, so as to express it visibly in their lives and practice, 
and to promote it zealously in their preaching, that they may, 
both by word and good example, become worthy and successful 
ministers of my Gospel. 

"For as thou hast sent me into the world to reveal thy will to 
mankind, so send I these my apostles to continue preaching the 
same doctrine begun by me. And the principal design of my 
exemplary life, constant teaching, and now voluntary offering 
myself to death for it, is, to sanctify and enable them to preach 
with success and efficacy for the salvation of men. Neither 
pray I for these my apostles only, but for all others, who shall, 
by their preaching and practice, promote thy true religion; and 
being converted from the world, may, by their sincere endeavors, 
go on to reform others, convincing the world of the excellency 
of their religion, and consequently enforcing men to acknowledge 
the truth and divine authority thereof. For promoting which 
great end, I have communicated to my apostles the same power 
and authority of doing mighty works for the confirmation of their 
doctrine, and the evidence of thy truth, as thou didst communi- 
cate to me: that so I working in them, as thou hast done in me, 
and thus confirming with great efficacy and demonstration of the 
spirit, they may establish the same doctrine which I published in 
person, the world may, by this evidence, be convinced that I was 
really sent by thee, and that my disciples act by the same divine 
commission. 

"Holy and Almighty Father, all those whom thou hast thus 
given me, who have heartily embraced my doctrine, and sincerely 
obeyed it, 1 desire that thou wouldest make them partakers of 
the same happiness with myself, and exalt them to behold the 
imcomprehensible glory wherewith thou didst originally invest 
me, in thy eternal love, before the foundation of the world. The 
generality of mortals, O righteous Father! have not known thee, 
nor been willing to embrace and obey the revelation of thy will. 
But I have known thy will, and have made it known to my dis- 
ciples, men of simplicity and honesty; and they have embraced 
and obeyed it. And 1 will continually make it known to them 
more and more, that they may grow up and improve in faith, in 
holiness, and in all good works, so as finally to arrive, and cause 
others to arrive, at that eternal happiness, which is the effect of 
thy infinite love towards me, and through me towards them." 

This pious and benevolent prayer being ended, Jesus and his 
disciples came down from the mount of Olives into a field below, 
called Gethsemane, through which the brook Cedron ran, and 
in it, on the other side of the brook, was a garden, called the 



362 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



garden of Gethsemane. Here he desired his disciples to sit 
down, till he should retire to pray, taking with him Peter, James, 
and John, those three select disciples, whom he had before 
chosen to be witnesses of his trans6guration, and now to be eye 
witnesses of his passion, leaving the other disciples at the garden 
door, to watch the approach of Judas and his band. 

The sufferings he was on the point of undergoing were so 
great, that the very prospect of them terrified him, and made him 
express himself in this doleful exclamation, "My soul is exceeding 
sorrowful even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch." On this 
great occasion he sustained those grievous sorrows in his soul, 
by which, as w r ell as by dying on the cross, he became a sin- 
offering, and accomplished the redemption of mankind. 

He now withdrew from them about a stone's cast, and his 
human nature being overburdened beyond measure, he found it 
necessary to retire and pray, that if it was possible, or consis- 
tent with the salvation of the world, he might be delivered from 
the sufferings which were then lying on him. It was not the 
fear of dying on the cross, which made him speak or pray in 
such a manner. To suppose this would infinitely degrade his 
character. Make his sufferings as terrible as possible, clothe 
them with all the aggravating circumstances of distress; yet the 
blessed Jesus, whose human nature was strengthened by being 
connected with the divine, could not shrink at the prospect of 
sufferings, or betray a weakness which many of his followers, 
who, though mere men, were strangers to. He addresses his 
divine Father with a sigh of fervent wishes that the cup might, 
if possible, be removed from him: in the Greek, it is, 44 O that 
thou wouldest remove this cup from me!" And having first 
kneeled and prayed, he fell prostrate on his face, accompanying 
his address with due expressions of resignation, adding, imme- 
diately, 44 Not as I will, but as thou wilt." 

Having prayed, he returned to his disciples, and finding them 
asleep, he said to Peter, 44 Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou 
not watch one hour?" Thou, who so lately didst boast of thy 
courage and constancy in my service, canst thou so soon forget 
thy Master? 

But in his greatest distress he never lost sight of that kind 
concern he had for his disciples. 44 Watch ye," said he, 44 and 
pray, lest ye enter into temptation." Neither was he, on those 
extraordinary occasions, in the least chagrined with the offences 
which they had committed through frailty and human weakness; 
on the contrary, was always willing to make excuses for them; 
alleging, in their defence, 44 that the Spirit" truly 44 was willing, 
but the flesh was weak." It seems, from these particulars, that 
he spent some considerable time in his addresses; because the 
disciples fell asleep in his absence, and he himself retired again 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



363 



to pray; for the sorrows of our Lord continuing to increase upon 
him, affected him to such a degree, that he retired a second 
time, and prayed to the same purpose, saying, "O my Father, 
if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy 
will be done:" after which he returned again to them, and found 
them asleep, "for their eyes were heavy." 

He returned thus frequently to his disciples, that they, by 
reading his distress in his countenance and gesture, might be 
witnesses of his passion, which proves that his pains were be- 
yond description intense, and complicated; for he went away 
the third time to pray, and notwithstanding an angel was sent 
from heaven to comfort and strengthen him, yet they over- 
whelmed him, and threw him into an agony: upon which he still 
continued to pray more earnestly. 

But the sense of his sufferings still increasing, they strained 
his whole body to so violent a degree, that his blood, as it were, 
was pressed through the pores of his skin, which they pervaded, 
together with his sweat, and fell down in large drops on the 
ground. "And he left them and went away again. And there 
appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him. 
And being in an agony he prayed the more earnestly: and his 
sweat was as it were of great drops of bJood falling down to the 
ground." Thus did he suffer unspeakable sorrows in his soul, 
as long as the divine wisdom thought proper. 

At length he obtained relief, being heard on account of his 
perfect and entire submission to the will of his heavenly Father. 
"And when he arose up from prayer, and was come to his dis- 
ciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow." This circumstance 
shows how much the disciples were affected with their Master's 
sufferings. The sensations of grief which they felt on seeing 
his unspeakable distress, so overpowered them, that they sunk 
into sleep. 

Our blessed Saviour, for the last time, came to his disciples, 
and seeing them still asleep, he said, "Sleep on now, and take 
your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is 
betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; be- 
hold he is at hand that doth betray me." Matt. xxvi. 45, &c. 
The event will soon be over, which causes your sorrow: lam 
betrayed, and ready to be delivered unto death. 



364 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The blessed Redeemer is taken by a band of Soldiers, at the infor- 
mation of the traitor Judas. — Heals a wound given the High 
Priests servant, by Simon Peter. 

Judas, who had often resorted to the garden of Gethsemane, 
with the disciples of our Lord, knowing the spot, and the usual 
time of his Master's repairing thither, informed the chief priests 
and elders that the proper time for apprehending Jesus was 
now come. They therefore sent a band of soldiers with him, 
and servants carrying lanterns and torches to show them the 
way; because, though it was always full moon at the passover, 
the sky might be dark with clouds, and the place whither they 
were going was shaded with trees. At the same time a depu- 
tation of their number accompanied the band, to see that every 
one did his duty. 

Judas having thus received a band of men and officers from 
the chief priests and Pharisees, they went thither with lanterns, 
and torches, and weapons; for they were exceeding anxious to 
secure and get him into their hands: and the soldiers having, 
perhaps, never seen Jesus before, found it necessary that Judas 
should distinguish him, and point him out to them by some par- 
ticular sign. 

The treacherous Judas went before the band, at a small dis- 
tance, to prepare them for the readier execution of their office, 
by kissing his Master, which was the token agreed upon, that 
they might not mistake him, and seize a wrong person. "And 
he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them 
and drew near unto Jesus, to kiss him." Stung with remorse 
at the horrid engagement into which he had entered, and not 
being now able to retract from the execution of it, he deter- 
mined to make use of art in his vile proceedings, and weakly 
imagined he could deceive him whom he was about to betray, 
on a supposition, that when he should give the kiss, it might be 
considered by his Master as a singular mark of his affection. 
When, therefore, they approached near the spot, Judas, (who 
was at the head of the band,) suddenly ran forward, and coming 
up with Jesus, said, "Hail, Master! and kissed him. And Jesus 
said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Betrayest thou 
the Son of Man with a kiss?" Before, however, Judas could 
make any reply, the band, (who had fixed their eyes on the 
person he had kissed,) arrived immediately, and surrounded 
Jesus. 

The artifice and wicked designs of the base and perfidious 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



365 



Judas are here manifestly displayed. In order to conceal his 
villany from his Master and his disciples, he walked hastily, and 
without waiting for the band, went up directly and saluted him; 
wishing, perhaps, to have that considered as a token for appriz- 
ing him of his danger. But Jesus did not fail to convince him 
that he knew the meaning and intent of his salutation, saying, 
"Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" Judas certainly 
concealed his treachery so well, that Peter did not suspect him, 
as it is probable he would have struck at him, rather than at 
Malchus, the high priest's servant. 

The appointed time of our Lord's sufferings being now come, 
he did not, as formerly, avoid his enemies; but on the contrary, 
on their telling him they sought Jesus of Nazareth, he replied, 
"I am he:" thereby intimating to them, that he was willing to 
put himself into their hands. At the same time to show them 
that they could not apprehend him without his own consent, 
he, in an extroardinary manner, exerted his divine power; he 
made the whole band fall back, and threw them to the ground. 
"Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon 
him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They 
answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am 
he. And Judas, also, who betrayed him, stood with them. As 
soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went back- 
ward, and fell to the ground." But the soldiers and the Jews, 
imagining, perhaps, that they had been thrown down by some 
demon or evil spirit, with whom the Jews said he was in con- 
federacy, advanced towards him a second time. "Then asked 
he them, again, Whom seek ye? and they said, Jesus of Naza- 
reth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he," express- 
ing again his willingness to fall into their hands. "If, therefore, 
ye seek me, let these go their way." If your business be with 
me alone, suffer my disciples to pass: for the party had sur- 
rounded them also. He seems to have made this request to the 
soldiers, that the saying might be fulfilled which he spake, 
"of them which thou gavest me I have lost none." For as he 
always proportioned the trials of his people to their strength; 
so here he took care that the disciples should escape the storm, 
which none but himself could sustain. 

At length, one of the soldiers, more daring than the rest, 
rudely caught Jesus, and bound him; upon which Peter drew 
his sword, and smote off the ear of the high priest's servant, who 
robably was showing greater forwardness than the rest in this 
usiness. "Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and 
smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear; the 
servant's name was Malchus." The enraged disciple was on the 
oint of singly attacking the whole band, when Jesus ordered 
im to sheath his sword; telling him that his unseasonable and 



366 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



imprudent defence might prove the occasion of his destruction, 
"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his 
place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the 
sword/' Matt. xxvi. 52. He told him likewise, that it implied 
both a distrust of God, who can always employ a variety of 
means for the safety of his people, and also his ignorance in the 
Scriptures. "Tbinkest thou," said he, "that I cannot now pray 
to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve 
legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be ful- 
filled that thus it must be?" Matt. xxvi. 53. 

The word legion was a Roman military term, being the name 
which they gave to a body of five or six thousand men; where- 
fore, in regard that the band which now surrounded them was 
a Roman cohort, our Lord might make use of this term, by way 
of contrast, to show what an inconsiderable thing the cohort 
was, in comparison of the force he could summon to his assist- 
ance; more than twelve legions, not of soldiers, but of angels. 
He yet was tenderly inclined to prevent any bad consequences 
which might have flowed from Peters rashness, by healing the 
servant, and adding, in his rebuke to him, a declaration of his 
willingness to suffer. "The cup which my Father has given 
me, shall I not drink it?" 

The circumstance of his healing the ear of Malchus, by touch- 
ing it, evidently implies, that no wound, or distemper, was incur- 
able in the hand of Jesus: neither was any injury so great that 
he could not forgive. It seems somewhat surprising, that this 
evident miracle did not make an impression upon the chief 
priests, especially as our Lord put them in mind, at the same 
time, of his other miracles; for having first said, "Suffer ye thus 
far. And he touched his ear and healed him:" he added, "Be 
ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staves? When 
I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands 
against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." 
Luke, xxii. 51, &c. The priests had kept at a distance, for 
some time, but drew near, when they understood that Jesus w r as 
in their power; for they were proof against all conviction, be- 
ing obstinately bent on putting him to death. And the disciples, 
when they saw their Master in the hands of his enemies, forsook 
him, and fled, according to his prediction; notwithstanding they 
might have followed him without danger, as the priests had no 
design against them. " Then all the disciples forsook him and 
fled. Then the band and the captain and officers took Jesus 
and bound him." But it was not the cord which held him; his 
immense charity was by far the stronger bond. He could have 
broken those weak ties, and exerted his divinity in a more won- 
derful manner; he could have stricken them all dead, with as 
much ease as he had before thrown them on the ground; but 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



367 



he patiently submitted to this, as to every other indignity which 
they chose to offer him: so meek was he under the greatest in- 
juries. Having thus secured him, they led him away. "And 
there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth 
cast about his naked body, and the young men laid hold of him; 
and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked." This, 
perhaps was the proprietor of the garden, who, being awakened 
with the noise, came out with the linen cloth, in which he had 
been lying, cast round his naked body, and having a respect for 
Jesus, followed him, forgetting the dress he was in. 

They first led him to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, who 
was high priest that year. Annas having himself discharged 
the office of high priest, was consequently a person of distin- 
guished character, which, together with his relation to the high 
priest, made him worthy of the respect they now paid him. 
But he refused, singly, to meddle in the affair; they therefore 
carried Jesus to Caiaphas himself, at whose palace the chief 
priests, elders, and Scribes, were assembled, having staid there 
all night to see the issue of their stratagem. This Caiaphas was 
he that advised the council to put Jesus to death, even admitting 
he was innocent, for the safety of the whole Jewish nation. He 
seems to have enjoyed the sacerdotal dignity during the whole 
course of Pilate's government in Judea; for he was advanced by 
Valerius Gratus, Pilate's predecessor, and was divested of it by 
Vitellius, governor of Syria, after he had deposed Pilate from 
his procuratorship. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Fulfillment of our LorcCs prediction concerning Peter. 

The apprehending of their dear Master could, not but strike 
his disciples with horror and amazement: though he had fore- 
warned them of that event, such was their consternation, that 
they fled different ways: some of them, however, recovering out 
of the panic that had seized them, followed the band at a dis- 
tance, to see what the issue would be. Of this number was 
Peter, and another disciple, whom John has mentioned, without 
giving his name, and who therefore is supposed to have been 
John himself. This disciple being acquainted at the high 
priest's, got admittance for himself first, and soon after for Peter, 
who had come with him. "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, 
and so did another disciple. That disciple was known unto the 
high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high 



368 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out 
that other disciple which was known unto the high priest, and 
spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. And 
when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were 
sat down together, Peter sat down among them." The maid 
servant, who kept the door, concluding Peter to be a disciple 
also, following after him to the fire, and looking earnestly at him, 
charged him with the supposed crime. "Then saith the damsel 
that kept the door, unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this 
man's disciples?" This blunt attack threw Peter into such con- 
fusion, that he flatly denied his having any connexion with Jesus, 
replying, "I am not;" and adding, "I know not, neither under- 
stand I what thou sayest." As if he said, I do not understand 
any reason for your asking me such a question. 

Thus the very apostle who had before acknowledged his Mas- 
ter to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and had so 
confidently boasted of his fortitude, and firm attachment to him 
in the greatest dangers, proved himself an arrant deserter of his 
cause upon trial. His shameful fears were altogether inexcusa- 
ble, as the enemy who attacked him was one of the weaker sex, 
and the terror of the charge was in a great measure taken off, 
by the insinuation made in it that John was likewise known to 
be Christ's disciple: for as he was known at the high priest's, he 
was consequently known in that character. "Art thou not also 
one of this man's disciples?" Art thou not one of them, as well 
as he who is sitting with you? Nothing can account for this 
conduct of Peter, but the confusion and panic which had seized 
him on this occasion. As his inward perturbation must have 
appeared in his countenance and gesture, he did not choose to 
stay long with the servants at the fire. He went out, therefore, 
into the porch, where he was a little concealed. "And he went 
into the porch: after he had been some time there, another 
maid saw him, and began to say to them that stood by, This is 
one of them; and he again denied it, with an oath, I know not 
the man;" adding perjury to falsehood. 

After Peter had been thus attacked without doors, he thought 
proper to return and mix with the crowd at the fire. "And 
Simon Peter stood and warmed himself." From this circum- 
stance, it is clear, that the ensuing was the third denial; and that 
Peter left the porch where the second denial happened, and was 
come again into the hall. "Here one of the servants of the 
high priest, (being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off,) saith, 
Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied 
again, and immediately the cock crew." The words of Malchus' 
kinsman, bringing to Peter's remembrance what he bad done to 
that man, threw him into such a panic, that when those that 
stood by repeated the charge, he imprudently denied: he even 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



369 



tt began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of 
whom ye speak." For when they heard Peter deny the charge, 
they supported it by an argument drawn from the accent with 
which he pronounced his answer. " Surely thou art one of them: 
for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto:-' so that 
being pressed on all sides, to give his lie the better color, he pro- 
faned the name of God, by imprecating the bitterest curses on 
himself, if he was telling a falsehood. Perhaps he hoped by 
these acts of impiety, to convince them effectually, that he was 
not the disciple of the holy Jesus. 

Thus the apostle denied his Master, three distinct times, with 
oaths and asservations, totally forgetting the vehement protesta- 
tions he had made, a few hours before, that he would never deny 
him. He was, probably, permitted to fall in this manner, to 
teach us two lessons; first, that the strongest resolutions formed 
in our own strength, cannot withstand the torrent of temptation; 
secondly, that the true disciples of Christ, though they fall, shall 
be brought to a conviction of their sin; for he no sooner denied 
his Master the third time, than the cock crew, and first awakened 
in him the conviction of his sin. "And the Lord turned and 
looked upon Peter; and Peter remembered the words of the 
Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou 
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly." 
St. Luke is the Evangelist who particularly mentions this beauti- 
ful circumstance of Christ's turning and looking on Peter. The 
members of the council who sat to adjuge Jesus, were placed at 
the upper end of the hall: in the other were the servants, with 
Peter, at the fire: so that Jesus being probably, placed on some 
eminence, that his judges, who were numerous, might see and hear 
him, could easily look over towards Peter, and observe him deny- 
ing him, and in passionate terms, loud enough to be heard, per- 
haps, over all the place. 

The look pierced him, and with the crowing of the cock 
brought his Master's prediction fresh into his mind. He was 
stung with deep remorse, and being unable to contain himself, 
he covered his face with his garment, to conceal the confusion 
he was in, and going out into the porch, wept very bitterly. All 
this passed while the priests examined Jesus, with many taunts 
and revilings; and while the most zealous of Christ's disciples 
was denying him with oaths and imprecations, the people insulted 
him in the most inhuman manner. Thus a complication of inju- 
ries, insults, and indignities, was at one time heaped upon the 
blessed Redeemer, the meek and mild Jesus, in order to fulfill 
the prophecies concerning him, and teach his followers a lesson 
of humility. 



370 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The Saviour of the world is arraigned at the bar of the Sanhedrim, 
and tried by the Jewish Council. 

When the band of soldiers arrived at the high priests with 
Jesus, they found there all the chief priests, the Scribes, and the 
elders assembled. "And as soon as it was day, the elders of the 
people, and the chief priests, and the Scribes, came together, and 
led him into their council. And the high priest asked Jesus of 
his disciples, and his doctrine." He inquired of him what his 
disciples were; for what end he had gathered them; whether it 
was to make himself a king, and what the doctrine was which he 
taught them? In these questions there was a great deal of art; 
for as the crime laid to our Saviour's charge was, that he had set 
up for the Messiah, and deluded the people, they expected he 
would claim that dignity in their presence, and so would, on his 
own confession, have condemned him, without any further pro- 
cess. This was unfair, as it was artful and ensnaring. To oblige 
a prisoner on his trial to confess what might take away his life 
was a very inequitable method of proceeding; and Jesus ex- 
pressed his opinion thereof with very good reason, and com- 
plained of it, bidding them prove what they had layed to his 
charge by witnesses. "Jesus answered him, I spake openly to 
the world, I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, 
whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. 
Why asketh thou me? ask them which heard me what I have 
said unto them; behold they know what I said." It was greatly 
to the honor of our blessed Redeemer, that all his actions were 
done in public, under the eye even of his enemies: because, had 
he been carrying on any imposture, the lovers of goodness and 
truth had thus abundant opportunies of detecting him, with pro- 
priety, he therefore, in his defence, appealed to that part of his 
character, but his answer was construed disrespectful; "for when 
he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by, struck 
Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high 
priest so?" To which he meekly replied, with the greatest 
serenity, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if 
well, why smitest thou me?" Shew me, prove before this court, 
wherein my crime consists, or record it on the evidence on the 
face of my trial; which if you cannot, how can you answer this 
inhuman treatment to a defenceless prisoner, standing on his trial 
before the world, and in open court? 

Thus Jesus became an example of his own precept, " Whoso- 
ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



371 



also." Matt. v. 39; bearing the greatest injuries, with a patience 
that could not be provoked. 

When the council found that Jesus declined answering the 
questions, whereby they expected to have drawn from him an 
acknowledgment of his being the Messiah, they proceeded to 
examine many witnesses to prove his having assumed that char- 
acter: as they considered such a pretension as blasphemy in his 
mouth, who being only a man, according to their opinion, could 
not, without the highest affront to the divine majesty, pretend to 
the title of the Son of God, as it belonged only to the Messiah. 

But in this examination they acted like interested and enraged 
persecutors, rather than impartial judges, forming their questions 
in the most artful manner, in order, if possible, to draw expres- 
sions from him, which they might pervert into suspicions of guilt, 
as some foundation for condemning Jesus, who had so long and 
faithfully labored for their salvation. 

Their witnesses, however, disappointed them, some of them 
disagreeing in their story, and others mentioning things of no 
manner of importance. At last, two persons agreed in their 
depositions, namely, in hearing him say, that he was able to 
destroy the temple of God, and to raise it in three days. But 
this testimony was absolutely false; for our great Redeemer 
never said he could destroy and build the temple of Jerusalem 
in three days, as they affirmed. It is true, that after banishing 
the traders from the temple, when the Jews desired to know by 
what authority he undertook to make such a reformation, he 
referred them to the miracle of his resurrection; bidding them 
"destroy this temple (pointing probaby to his body) and in three 
days he would raise it up." The witnesses, therefore, either 
through malice or ignorance, perverted his answer into an affir- 
mation, that he was able to destroy and build the magnificent 
temple of Jerusalem in three days: and the judges considered 
this assertion as blasphemy, because it could be only done by 
the divine power. 

Our Saviour made no reply to the evidences that were pro- 
duced against him, which greatly provoked the high priest, who, 
supposing that he intended by his silence to put an affront on 
the council, rose from his seat, and, with great perturbation, de- 
manded the reason for so remarkable a conduct. "Answerest 
thou nothing?" said he, "what is it which these witness against 
thee?" And some of the council added, "Art thou the Christ?" 
To which our blessed Saviour answered, If I should tell you 
plainly, you would not believe me ; and if I should demonstrate 
it to you by the most evident and undeniable arguments, ye 
would neither be convinced, nor let me go. 

The high priest, finding all his attempts to trepan our Saviour 
in vain, said to him, I adjure you solemnly, by the dreadful and 



372 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tremendous name of God, in whose presence you stand, that you 
tell me plainly and truly, whether thou art the Messiah, the Son 
of God. 

The consequence attending a confession of the truth did not 
intimidate the blessed Jesus; for, being abjured by the chief 
magistrate, he immediately acknowledged the charge, adding, 
Ye shall shortly see a convincing evidence of this truth, in that 
wonderful and unparalleled destruction which I will send upon 
the Jewish nation; in the quick and powerful progress which 
the Gospel shall make upon the earth ; and, finally, in my 
glorious appearance in the clouds of heaven, at the last day, 
the sign you have so often demanded, in confirmation of my 
mission. 

Upon our blessed Saviours making this answer, a number of 
them cried out, at once, "Art thou the Son of God?" To which 
our great Redeemer replied, "Ye say that 1 am:" a manner of 
speaking among the Jews, which expressed a plain and strong 
affirmation of the thing expressed. 

When the high priest heard this second assertion, he rent his 
clothes with great indignation, and said unto the council, Why 
need we trouble ourselves to seek for any more witnesses? Ye 
yourselves, nay, this whole assembly, are witnesses, that he hath 
spoken manifest and notorious blasphemy: What think, ye? 
To which they all replied, that for assuming to himself the char- 
acter of the Messiah, he deserved to be put to death. 

Then began the servants and the common people to fall upon 
him as a man already condemned; spitting upon him, buffeting 
him, and offering him all manner of rudeness and indignities. 
They blindfolded him; and some of the council, in order to ridi- 
cule him for having pretended to be the great prophet, bid him 
exercise his prophetical gift, in declaring who had smote him. 

Such was the treatment of the Son of God, the Saviour of 
sinners, which, though derogatory to his character, he bore with 
patience and resignation, leaving his people an example to fol- 
low his steps, and submit to the will of God in all things, nor 
murmur at any of the dispensations of his providence. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



373 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Our blessed Saviour is carried before the Roman Governor* — The 
traitor Judas becomes his own executioner* — Pilate publicly acquits 
Jesus, and refers his case to the decision of Herod. 

The blessed Jesus being thus condemned, by the unanimous 
voice of the grand assembly, it was resolved to carry him before 
the governor, that he likewise might pass sentence upon him. 
The Roman governors of Judea generally resided at Caesarea; 
but at the great feasts they came up to Jerusalem, to prevent or 
suppress tumults, and to administer justice; it being a custom for 
the Roman governors of provinces to visit the principal towns 
under their jurisdiction, on this latter account. Pilate being 
accordingly come to Jerusalem, some time before the feast, had 
been informed of the great ferment among the rulers, and the 
true character of the person on whose account it was raised; 
for he entertained a just notion of it: "He knew that for envy 
they had delivered him." He knew the cause of their envy, 
was impressed with a favorable opinion of Jesus, and wished, 
possible, to deliver him from his vile persecutors. 

Early in the morning, the Jewish council brought Jesus to 
the hall of judgment, or governor's palace. They themselves, 
however, went not into the hall, but stood without, lest they 
should be defiled, and rendered incapable of eating the pass- 
over. 

Now Judas Iscariot, who had delivered his Master into the 
hands of the council, finding his project turned out very different 
from what he expected, was filled with the deepest remorse for 
what he had done. He saw all his golden dreams of temporal 
honors and advantages sunk at once to nothing; he saw his 
kind, his indulgent Master, condemned and forsaken by all his 
followers; he saw all this, and determined to make all the satis- 
faction in his power for the crime he had committed. 

Accordingly, he came and confessed openly his sin, before the 
chief priests and elders, offered them the money they had given 
him to commit it, and earnestly wished he could recall the fatal 
transaction of the preceding night. 

It shows he thought this was the most public testimony he 
could possibly give of his Master's innocence, and his own 
repentance. I have, said he, committed a most horrid crime, ii> 
betraying an innocent man to death. 

But this moving speech of Judas had no effect on the callous 
hearts of the Jewish rulers. They affirmed, that, however he 
might think the prisoner innocent, and for that reason had sin- 



374 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ned in bringing the sentence of death upon his head, they were 
not to blame; because they knew him a blasphemer, who de- 
served to die. "What is that to us?" said they, "see thou to 
that." Nay, they even refused to take back the money they 
had given him as a reward for performing the base act of be- 
traying his Master. 

The deepest remorse now seized upon the wretched Judas, 
and his soul was agitated by the horrors of despair. The inno- 
cence and benevolence of his Master, the many favors he him- 
self had received from him, and the many kind offices he had 
done for the sons and daughters of affliction, crowded at once 
into his mind, and rendered his torments intolerable. Racked 
with those agonizing passions, and unable to support the misery, 
he threw down the wages of his iniquity in the temple; and 
confessing at the same time his own sin, and the innocence of 
his Master, went away in despair, and hanged himself. 

Thus perished Judas Iscariot the traitor, a miserable example 
of the fatal influence of covetousness, and a standing monument 
of divine vengeance to deter future generations from acting in 
opposition to the dictates of conscience, through a love of the 
things of this world; for which this wretched mortal betrayed 
his Master, his friend, his Saviour; and accumulated such a load 
of guilt on himself, as sunk his soul into the lowest pit of per- 
dition. 

The pieces of silver cast down by Judas were gathered up, 
and delivered to the priests, who thinking it unlawful to put 
them into the treasury, because they were the wages of a traitor, 
agreed to lay them out in purchasing the potters field, and to 
make it a common burial place for strangers. 

This, the Evangelist tells us, was done, that a particular pro- 
phecy, relating to the Messiah, might be fulfilled: "And they 
took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, 
whom they of the children of Israel did value; and gave them 
for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." This pro- 
phecy is found in Zachariah; but, by a mistake of some copyist, 
the word Jeremiah is inserted in the Greek manuscripts of St. 
Matthew's Gospel, unless we suppose with the learned Grotius, 
that this remarkable prophecy was first made by Jeremiah, and 
afterwards repeated by the immediate direction of the Spirit by 
Zachariah; and that, therefore, the Evangelist has only ascribed 
the prophecy to its original author. But, however this be, the 
prophecy is remarkable, and was remarkably fulfilled. And the 
Evangelist, by thus appealing to a public transaction, puts the 
truth of this part of the history beyond all manner of exception. 

We have already observed, that the chief priests and elders 
refused to go themselves into the judgment-hall, lest they should 
contract some pollutions in the house of an heathen, which 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



375 



would have rendered them unfit for eating the passover. The 
same reason also hindered them from entering the governor's 
palace, on other festivals, when that magistrate attended in order 
to administer justice: a kind of structure was, therefore, erected, 
adjoining to the palace, which served instead of a tribunal or 
judgment seat. This structure, called in the Hebrew "Gabba- 
tha," was finely paved with small pieces of marble of different 
colors, being always exposed to the weather. One side of this 
structure joined to the palace, and a door was made in the wall, 
through which the governor passed to this tribunal. By this 
contrivance, the people might stand round the tribunal in the 
open air, hear and see the governor when he spake to them 
from the pavement, and observe the whole administration of 
justice, without danger of being defiled, either by him or by 
of his retinue. 

Before this tribunal the great Redeemer of mankind was 
brought, and the priests and elders having taken their places 
round the pavement, the governor ascended the judgment seat, 
and asked them what accusation they brought against the pris- 
oner ? Though nothing could be more natural than for the 
governor to ask this question, yet the Jews thought themselves 
highly affronted by it, and haughtily answered, If he had not 
been a very great and extraordinary malefactor, we should not 
have given you this trouble at all, much less at so unseasonable 
an hour. 

Pilate examined Jesus; and finding he had not been guilty 
either of rebellion or sedition, but that he was accused of parti- 
culars relating to the religion and customs of the Jews, grew 
angry, and said, What are these things to me? Take him your- 
selves, and judge him according to your own law. Plainly 
insinuating, that, in his opinion, the crime they had laid to the 
prisoner's charge was not of a capital nature: and that such 
punishments as they were permitted by Csesar to inflict, were 
adequate to any misdemeanor that Jesus was charged with. 
But this proposal of the Roman governor was absolutely refused 
by the Jewish priests and elders, because it condemned the 
whole proceeding; and therefore they answered, We have no 
power to put any one to death, as this man certainly deserves, 
who has attempted not only to make innovations in our religion, 
but also set up himself for a king. 

The eagerness of the Jews to get Jesus condemned by the 
Roman governor, who often sentenced malefactors to be cruci- 
fied, tended to fulfill the saying of our great Redeemer, who, 
during the course of his ministry, had often mentioned what 
kind of death he was, by the counsel of Omnipotence, appointed 
to die. 

Pilate finding it impossible to prevent a tumult, unless he pro- 
44 



376 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ceeded to try Jesus, ascended again the judgment seat, and com- 
manded his accusers to produce their accusations against him. 
Accordingly they accused him of seditious practices, affirming 
that he used every method in his power to dissuade the people 
from paying taxes to Caesar, pretending that he himself was the 
Messiah, the great King of the Jews, so long expected. But they 
brought no proof of these assertions. They only insinuated, that 
they had already convicted him of this assertion; which was ab- 
solutely false. Pilate, however, asked him, Is it true what these 
men lay to your charge, that you have, indeed, attempted to set 
up yourself as king of the Jews? To which Jesus replied, Have 
you ever, during your stay in this province, heard any thing of 
me that gave you reason to suspect me guilty of secret practices 
and seditious designs against the government? Or do you found 
your question only on the present clamor and tumult that is 
raised against me? If this be the case, be very careful lest you 
be imposed on merely by the ambiguity of a word: for, to be 
"King of the Jews," is not to erect a temporal throne, in oppo- 
sition to that of Caesar, but a thing of a very different nature; 
the kingdom of the Messiah is in the heavenly Canaan. 

To which Pilate replied, Am I a Jew? Can I tell what your 
expectations are, and in what sense you understand these words? 
The rulers and chiefs of your own people, who are the most 
proper judges of these particulars, have brought you before me 
as a riotous and seditious person; if this be not the truth, let me 
know what is, and the crime thou hast been guilty of. 

Jesus answered, I have a kingdom, and this kingdom, I have 
professed to establish. But then it is not of this world, nor have 
my endeavors to establish it any tendency to cause disturbances 
in the government. For, had that been the case, my servants 
would have fought for me, and not suffered me to have fallen 
into the hands of the Jews. But I tell you plainly, my kingdom 
is wholly spiritual. I reign in the hearts of my people, and 
subdue their wills and affections into a conformity to the will of 
God. 

You acknowledge then, in general, answered Pilate, that you 
have pretended to be a king? To which the blessed Jesus 
replied, In the sense I have told you, I have declared, and do 
now declare, myself to be a king. To this very end I was born, 
and for this purpose I came into the world, that I should bear 
witness to the truth ; and whosoever sincerely loves, and is always 
ready to embrace the truth, will have my testimony, and be con- 
vinced by it. 

Pilate answered, "What is truth?" And immediately went 
out to the Jews, and said unto them, I have again examined this 
man, but cannot find him guilty of any fault, which, according 
to the Roman law, is worthy of death. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



377 



This generous declaration made by the governor, of the inno- 
cence of our blessed Saviour, had no effect on the superstitious 
and bigoted Jews. They even persisted in their accusations with 
more vehemence than before, affirming that he had attempted to 
raise a sedition in Galilee: "He stirreth up," said they, "the 
people, beginning from Galilee to this place." 

Jesus, however, made no answer at all to this heavy charge. 
Nay, he continued silent, notwithstanding the governor himself 
expressly required him to speak in his own defence. A conduct 
so extraordinary, in such circumstances, astonished Pilate ex- 
ceedingly; for he had great reason to be persuaded of the inno- 
cence of our dear Redeemer. The truth is, he was altogether 
ignorant of the divine counsel, by which the whole affair was 
directed. 

There were many reasons which induced the blessed Jesus 
not to make a public defence. He came into the world purely 
to redeem lost and undone mankind, by offering up himself a 
sacrifice to appease the wrath of his Almighty Father; but had 
he pleaded with his usual force, the people had, in all probability, 
been induced to ask his release, and consequently his death had 
been prevented. Besides, the gross falsehood of the accusation, 
known to all the inhabitants of Galilee, rendered any reply ab- 
solutely needless. 

In the mean time the chief priests continued to accuse him 
with great noise and tumult. And the meek and humble Jesus 
still continuing mute, Pilate spake again to him, saying, Wilt 
thou continue to make no defence? Dost thou not hear how 
vehemently these men accuse thee? 

But Pilate recollecting what the chief priests had said with 
regard to a sedition in Galilee, asked if Jesus came out of that 
country? and on being informed he did, he immediately ordered 
him to be carried to Herod, who was also then at Jerusalem. 

The governor supposed that Herod in whose dominions the 
sedition was said to have been raised, must be a better judge of 
the affair than myself. Besides, his being a Jew rendered him 
more versed in the religion of his own country, and gave him 
greater influence over the chief priests and elders; he therefore 
considered him as the most proper person to prevail on the Jew- 
ish council to desist from their cruel prosecution. But if, con- 
trary to all human probability, he should at their solicitation, 
condemn Jesus, Pilate hoped to escape the guilt and infamy of 
putting an innocent person to death. He might also propose, 
by this action, to regain Herod's friendship, which he had for- 
merly lost, by encroaching, in all probability, on his privileges. 

But however that be, or whatever motive induced Pilate to 
send our great Redeemer to Herod, the latter greatly rejoiced at 



378 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



this opportunity of seeing Jesus, hoping to have the pleasure of 
beholding him perform some great miracle. 

In this he was, however, mistaken: for as Herod had aposta- 
tized from the doctrine of John the Baptist, to which he was 
once a convert, and had even put his teacher to death, the bles- 
sed Jesus, however liberal of his miracles to the sons and daugh- 
ters of affliction, would not work them to gratify the curiosity of 
a tyrant, nor even answer one of the many questions he proposed 
to him. 

Herod, finding himself thus disappointed, ordered our blessed 
Saviour to be clothed with an old robe, resembling in color those 
worn by kings, and permitted his attendants to insult him. 

From Herod's dressing him in this manner, it evidently ap- 
pears, that the chief priests and elders had accused him of 
nothing, but his having assumed the character of the Messiah; 
for the affront put upon him was plainly in derision of that pro- 
fession. 

The other head of accusation, namely, his having attempted to 
raise a sedition in Galilee, on account of tribute paid to Caesar, 
they did not dare to mention, as Herod could not fail of knowing 
it to be a gross and malicious falsehood. And no crime worthy 
of death being laid to his charge, Herod sent him again to Pilate. 
It seems that though he was displeased with the great Redeemer 
of mankind for refusing to work a miracle before him, yet he did 
not think proper to comply with the wishes of his enemies. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

The Roman Governor, for want of evidence, proposes to acquit and 
release Jesus three several times, but at length, at the pressing in- 
stigation of the inveterate Jews, he condemns and delivers him up. 

The Roman governor, in order to acquire popular applause, 
used generally, at the feast of the passover, to release a prisoner 
nominated by the people. At this feast there was one in prison, 
named Barabbas, who, at the head of a number of rebels, had 
made an insurrection in the city, and committed murder during 
the confusion. 

The multitude, being now again assembled before the gover- 
nor's palace, began to call aloud on him to perform the annual 
office of mercy, customary at that festival. 

Pilate, glad of this opportunity, told them, that he was very 
willing to grant the favor they desired; and asked him whether 
they would have Barabbas or Jesus released unto them. But 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



379 



without waiting for an answer, he offered to release Jesus, know- 
ing that the chief priests had delivered him through envy; espe- 
cially as Herod had not found him guilty of the crimes laid to 
his charge. 

While these particulars were transacting, Pilate received a 
message from his wife, then with him at Jerusalem, and who had 
that morning been informed of something in a dream which gave 
her great uneasiness. The dream had so great an effect on this 
Roman lady, that she could not rest till she had sent an account 
of it to her husband, who was then sitting with the tribunal on 
the pavement, and begged him to have no hand in the death of 
the righteous person he was then judging. 

The people had not yet determined whether they would have 
Jesus or Barabbas released to them; therefore, when Pilate 
received the message from his wife, he called the chief priests 
and rulers together, and, in the hearing of the multitude, made 
a speech to them, in which he gave them an account of the 
examination which Jesus had undergone both at his own and 
Herod's tribunal, declaring, that in both courts it had turned out 
honorably to his character; for which reason he proposed to 
them, that he should be the object of the people's favor. 

Pilate did the priests the honor of desiring to know their 
inclinations in particular, perhaps with a design to soften their 
stony hearts, and, if possible, to move them for once to pity an 
unhappy and innocent man. But he was persuaded that if pity 
was absolutely banished from their callous breasts, his proposal 
would have been acceptable to the people, who he expected 
would embrace the first opportunity of declaring in his favor. 
Yet in this he was disappointed. They cried out, all at once, 
"Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas." 

Pilate himself was astonished at this determination of the mul- 
titude, and repeated his question; for he could hardly believe 
what he had himself heard. But on their again declaring that 
they desired Barabbas might be released, he asked them what 
he should do with Jesus, which is called Christ. As if he had 
said, You demand that Barabbas should be released; but what 
shall I then do with Jesus; you cannot surely desire me to crucify 
him, whom so many of you have acknowledged as your Messiah! 
"But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Then Pilate 
saith unto them, Why, what evil hath he done ? And they cried 
out the more exceedingly, Crucify him." 

Pilate, finding it therefore in vain to struggle with their pre- 
judices, called for water, and washed his hands before the multi- 
tude, crying out, at the same time, that the prisoner had no fault, 
and that he himself was innocent of his blood. 

By this action and declaration, Pilate seems to have intended 
to make an impression on the Jewish populace, by complying 



380 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



with the institution of Moses, which orders, in case of an un- 
known murder, the elders of the nearest city to wash their hands 
publicly, and say, "Our hands have not shed this blood." And 
in allusion to this law the Psalmist says, "I will wash mine hands 
in innocence." Accordingly, therefore, to the Jewish rite, Pilate 
made the most solemn and public declaration of the innocence 
of our dear Redeemer, and of his resolution of having no hand 
in his death. 

But notwithstanding the solemnity of this declaration, the 
Jews continued inflexible, and cried out with one voice, "His 
blood be on us and our children." Dreadful imprecation! It 
shocks humanity! An imprecation which brought on them the 
dreadful vengeance of Omnipotence, and is still a heavy burden 
on that perfidious people ! 

The governor, finding it impossible to alter their choice, re- 
leased unto them Barabbas. And as it was the general practice 
of the Romans to scourge those criminals they condemned to be 
crucified, Pilate ordered the blessed Jesus to be scourged, before 
he delivered him to the soldiers to be put to death. 

The soldiers having scourged Jesus, and received orders to 
crucify him, carried him into the Praetorium, or common hall, 
where they added the shame of disgrace to the bitterness of his 
punishment; for, sore as he was, by reason of the stripes they 
had given him, they dressed him in a purple robe, in derision of 
his being king of the Jews. Having dressed him in this robe 
of mock majesty, they put a reed in his hand, instead of a scep- 
tre, and after plaiting a wreath of thorns, they put it on his head 
for a crown; forcing it down in so rude a manner, that his tem- 
ples were torn, and his face besmeared with his most precious 
blood. To the Son of God, in this condition, the rude soldiers 
bowed the knee, pretending to do it out of respect; but at the 
same time gave him severe blows on his head, which drove the 
prickles of the wreath afresh into his temples, and then spit on 
him, to express their highest contempt. 

The governor, whose office obliged him to be present at this 
shocking scene of humanity, was ready to burst with grief. The 
sight of an innocent and virtuous man treated with such shock- 
ing barbarity, raised in his breast the most painful sensations of 
pity. And though he had given sentence that it should be as 
the Jews desired, and had delivered our dear Redeemer to the 
soldiers to be crucified, he was in hopes that if he showed him 
to the people in that condition, they must relent, and petition 
him to release him. 

Filled with this thought, he resolved to carry him out, and 
exhibit to their view a spectacle capable of softening the most 
envenomed, obdurate, enraged enemy. And in order to render 
the impression still more poignant, he went out himself, and said 



CHRIST SCOURGED BY THE SOLDIERS. 

[Page 360.] 




" Then released heBarabbas unto thtm; and when he had scourged Jesus, he deliv- 
ered him to be crucified." — Matt, xxvii. '26. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



383 



unto them, Though I have sentenced this man to die, and have 
scourged him as one that is to be crucified, yet I once more 
bring him before you, that I may again testify how fully I am 
persuaded of his innocence, and that ye may yet have an oppor- 
tunity of saving his life. 

As soon as the governor had finished his speech, Jesus ap- 
peared on the pavement, his hair, his face, his shoulders all clot- 
ted with blood, and the purple robe bedaubed with spittle. And 
that the sight of Jesus in this distress might make the greater 
impression on the people, Pilate, while he was coming forward, 
cried out, "Behold the man!" As if he had said, Will nothing 
make you relent? Have ye lost all the feelings of humanity, 
and bowels of compassion? Can you bear to see the innocent, 
a son of Abraham, thus injured? 

But all this was to no purpose; the priests, whose rage and 
malace had extinguished not only the sentiments of justice and 
feelings of pity natural to the human heart, but also that love 
which countrymen bear for each other, no sooner saw Jesus, 
than they began to fear the fickle populace might relent, and, 
therefore, laying decency aside, they led the way to the multi- 
tude, crying out, with all their might, Crucify him! crucify him! 

Pilate, vexed to see the Jewish rulers thus obstinately bent on 
the destruction of a person from whom they had nothing to fear 
that was dangerous, either with regard to their church or state, 
passionately told them, that if they would have him crucified, 
they must do it themselves: because he would not sutler his peo- 
ple to murder a man who was guilty of no crime. 

But this they also refused, thinking it dishonorable to receive 
permission to punish a person who had been more than once 
publicly declared innocent by his judge. Besides, they consid- 
ered with themselves, that the governor might afterwards have 
called it sedition, as the permission had been extorted from him. 
Accordingly they told him that even though none of the things 
alleged against the prisoner were true, he had committed such 
a crime in the presence of the council itself, as by their law de- 
served the most ignominious death. He had spoken blasphemy, 
calling himself the Son of God, a title which no mortal could 
assume, without the highest degree of guilt. " We have a law, 
and bv our law he ought to die, because he made himself the 
Son of God." 

When Pilate heard that Jesus called himself the Son of God, 
his fear was increased. Knowing the obstinacy of the Jews in 
all matters of religion, he was afraid they would make a tumult 
in earnest; or perhaps he was himself more afraid than ever to 
take away his life, because he suspected it might be true. He 
doubtless remembered the miracles said to have been performed 
by Jesus, and therefore suspected that he really was the Son of 



384 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



God. For it was well known that the religion which the gov- 
ernor professed, directed him to acknowledge the existence of 
demigods and heroes, or men descended from the gods. Nay, 
the heathens believed that their gods themselves appeared upon 
earth in the form of men. 

Reflections of this kind induced Pilate to go again to the 
judgment hall, and ask Jesus from what father he sprung, and 
from what country he came? But our blessed Saviour gave him 
no answer, lest the governor should reverse his sentence, and 
absolutely refuse to crucify him. 

Pilate marvelled greatly at his silence, and said unto Jesus, 
Why dost thou refuse to answer me? You cannot be ignorant 
that I am invested with absolute power, either to release or 
crucify you. To which Jesus answered, I well know that you 
are Caesar's servant, and accountable to him for your conduct. 
I forgive you any injury, which, contrary to your inclination, 
the popular fury constrains you to do unto me. Thou hast 
thy power from above, from the emperor; for which cause the 
Jewish high priest, who hath put me into thy hands, and by 
pretending that I am Caesar's enemy, forces thee to condemn 
me; or, if thou refusest, will accuse thee as negligent of the 
emperor's interest; he is more guilty than thou. "He that de- 
livered me unto thee hath the greater sin." 

This sweet and modest answer made such an impression on 
Pilate, that he went out to the people, and declared his inten- 
tion of releasing Jesus, whether they gave their consent or not. 
Upon which the chief priests and rulers of Israel cried out, "If 
thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever 
maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar." If thou re- 
leasest the prisoner, who hath set himself up for a king, and 
endeavored to raise a rebellion in the country, thou art unfaith- 
ful to the interest of the emperor thy master. 

This aigument was weighty, and shook Pilate's resolution to 
the very basis. He was terrified at the thought of being accused 
to the emperor, who, in all affairs of government, always sus- 
pected the worst, and punished the most minute crimes relative 
thereto, with death. 

The governor being thus constrained to yield, contrary to 
his inclination, was very angry with the priests for stirring up 
the people to such a pitch of madness, and determined to affront 
them. 

He therefore brought Jesus out, a second time, into the pave- 
ment, wearing the purple robe and the crown of thorns; and 
pointing to him, said, "Behold your king!" ridiculing their na- 
tional expectation of a Messiah. 

This sarcastical expression stung them to the quick, and they 
cried out, "Away with him! away with him! crucify him!" 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



385 



To which Pilate answered, with the same mocking air, "Shall 
I crucify your king ? The chief priests answered, We have 
no king but Caesar." Thus did they publicly renounce their 
hope of the Messiah, which the whole economy of their religion 
had been calculated to cherish; they also publicly acknowl- 
edged their subjection to the Romans, and, consequently, con- 
demned themselves, when they afterwards rebelled against the 
emperor. 

We cannot help observing here, that the great unwillingness 
of the governor to pass sentence of death upon Jesus, has some- 
thing in it very remarkable. For from the character of Pilate, 
as drawn by the Roman historians themselves, he seems to have 
been far from possessing any true principle of virtue. To what 
then could it be owing, that so wicked a man should so steadily 
adhere to the cause of innocence, which he defended with un- 
common resolution, and perhaps would never have abandoned 
it, had he not been forced by the threatenings of the chief 
priests and rulers of Israel; and when he did yield, and passed 
sentence of death upon our dear Redeemer, why did he still 
declare him innocent? This can certainly be attributed to no 
other cause than to the secret but powerful direction of the pro- 
vidence of the Almighty, who intended that, at the same time 
his Son was condemned and executed as a malefactor, his inno- 
cence should be made to appear in the most public manner, 
and by the most authentic evidence, even that of the judge him- 
self. From the circumstances we have been relating, we may 
learn, that though the Almighty, in the course of his providen- 
tial government of the world, and for purposes beyond the com- 
prehension of finite mortals, suffers the most virtuous characters 
to be exposed, not only to the insults but the cruelty of the most 
abandoned of mankind; yet he will certainly vindicate the cause 
of innocence, and strike the guilty with horror and remorse, for 
their impious conduct. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The innocent immaculate Redeemer is led forth to Mount Calvary 
and there ignominious crucified between two notorious Malefac- 
tors* — Reviled by the spectators, — A phenomenon appears on the 
important occasion. — Our Lord addresses his friends from the 
cross, and gives up the ghost. 

The solemn, the awful period now approached, when the Son 
of God, the Redeemer of the world, was to undergo the oppres- 

45 



386 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



sive burden of our sins, upon the tree, and submit unto death, 
even the death of the cross, that we might live at the right 
hand of God, for ever and ever. 

Sentence being pronounced against the blessed Jesus, the 
soldiers were ordered to prepare for his execution, a command 
which they readily obeyed; and after clothing him in his own 
garments led him away to crucify him. It is not said that they 
took the crown of thorns from his temples; probably he died 
wearing it, that the title placed over his head might be the bet- 
ter understood. 

It is not to be expected that the ministers of Jewish malice 
remitted any of the circumstances of affliction, which were ever 
laid on persons condemned to be crucified. Accordingly Jesus 
was obliged to walk on foot to the place of execution, bearing 
his cross. But the fatigue of the preceding night, spent without 
sleep, the sufferings he had undergone in the garden, his having 
been hurried from place to place, and obliged to stand the whole 
time of his trials; the want of food, and the loss of blood he 
had sustained, and not his want of courage on this occasion, 
made him faint under the burden of his cross. The soldiers 
seeing him unable to bear the weight, laid it on one Simon, a 
native of Cyrene, in Egypt, the father of Alexander and Rufus, 
well known among the first Christians, and forced him to bear 
it after the Redeemer of mankind. The soldiers did not, 
however, do this out of compassion to the sufferings of Jesus, 
but to prevent his dying with the fatigue, and by that means 
eluding his punishment. 

The blessed Jesus, in his journey to Calvary, was followed 
by an innumerable multitude of people, particularly of women, 
who lamented bitterly the seventy of his sentence, and showed 
all the tokens of sincere compassion and grief. Jesus, who 
always felt the woes of others, more than he did his own, forget- 
ting his distress at the very time when it lay heaviest upon him, 
turned himself about, and with a benevolence and tenderness 
truly divine, said to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not 
for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For 
behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed 
are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps 
which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the 
mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they 
do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" 
Luke, xxiii. 28, &c. As if he had said, Dry up these tears, ye 
daughters of Jerusalem, which ye shed in compassion to me, and 
reserve them for the deplorable fate of yourselves, and of your 
children: for the calamities that will soon fall on you and your 
•offspring are truly terrible, and call for the bitterest lamenta- 
tions. In those days of vengeance you will passionately wish 



CHRIST BEARING- HIS CROSS. 

[Page 366.] 




And he bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a scull, which ts 
in the Hebrew, called Golgotha, 

"Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in 
the midst." — Johu six. 17, 18, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 389 

that you had not given birth to a generation whose wickedness 
has rendered them the objects of the wrath of the Almighty, to 
such a decree as never was before experienced in the world. 
Then shall they wish to be crushed under the weight of enor- 
mous mountains, and concealed from their enemies in the bowels 
of the hills. The thoughts of these calamities afflict my soul far 
more than the feeling of my own sufferings. For if the Romans 
are permitted to inflict such punishments on me, who am inno- 
cent, how dreadful must the vengeance be which they shall 
inflict on a nation whose sins cry aloud to heaven, hastening the 
pace of the divine judgments, and rendering the perpetrators as 
proper for punishment as dry wood is for the flames. 

Being arrived at the place of execution, which was called 
Golgotha, or the Place of Skulls, from the criminals' bones 
which lay scattered there, some of our Redeemer's friends offer- 
ed him a stupefying potion, to render him insensible to the 
ignominy and excruciating pain of this punishment. But as 
soon as he tasted the potion, he refused to drink it, being de- 
termined to bear his sufferings, however sharp, not by intoxica- 
ting and stupefying himself, but by the strength of patience, for- 
titude, and faith. 

Jesus having refused the potion, the soldiers began to exe- 
cute their orders, by stripping him quite naked, and in that con- 
dition began to fasten him to his cross. But while they were 
piercing his hands and his feet with nails, instead of crying out 
through the sharpness of the pain, he calmly, though fervently 
prayed for them, and for all those who had any hand in his 
death; beseeching the Almighty to forgive them, and excusing 
them himself by the only circumstance that could alleviate their 
guilt; I mean, their ignorance. "Father," said the compassion- 
ate Redeemer of mankind, "forgive them, for they know not 
what they do." This was infinite meekness and goodness, truly 
worthy of the only begotten Son of God, an example of forgive- 
ness, which though it can never be equalled by any, should be 
imitated by all. 

It was usual for the crimes committed by malefactors to be 
written on a white board, with black, and placed over their heads 
on the cross, In conformity to this custom, Pilate wrote a title 
in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages, that all foreigners, 
as well as natives, might be able to read it, and fastened it to the 
cross, over the head of Jesus; and the inscription was, "This is 
the King of the Jews." But when the chief priests and the 
elders had read this title, they were greatly displeased; because, 
as it represented the crime for which Jesus was condemned, it 
insinuated that he had been acknowledged for the Messiah. 
Besides, being placed over the head of one who was dying by 
the most infamous punishment, it implied that all who attempted 



390 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to deliver the Jews should perish in the same manner. The faith 
and hope of the nation, therefore, being thus publicly ridiculed, it 
is no wonder that the priests thought themselves highly affronted; 
and accordingly came to Pilate, begging that the writing might 
be altered. But as he had intended the affront in revenge for 
their forcing him to crucify Jesus, contrary both to his judgment 
and inclination, he refused to grant their request. "What I 
have written," said he, " I have written." 

When the soldiers had nailed the blessed Jesus to the cross, 
and erected it, they divided his garments among them. But his 
coat, or vesture, being without seam, woven from the top through- 
out, they agreed not to rend it, but to cast lots for it, by which 
the prediction of the prophet concerning the death and sufferings 
of the Messiah was fulfilled. "They parted my garments among 
them, and for my vesture did they cast lots." A sufficient indi- 
cation that every circumstance of the death and passion of the 
blessed Jesus was long before determined in the court of heaven; 
and accordingly his being crucified between two malefactors 
was expressly foretold, " and he was numbered with the transgres- 
sors." 

The common people, whom the vile priests had incensed 
against the blessed Jesus, by the malicious falsehoods they had 
spread concerning him, and which they pretended to found on 
the deposition of witnesses; the common people, I say, seeing 
him hang in so infamous a manner upon the cross, and reading 
the inscription that was placed over his head, expressed their 
indignation at him by sarcastical expressions. "Ah thou," said 
they, "that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 
save thyself, and come down from the cross." 

But the common people were not the only persons who mocked 
and derided the blessed Jesus, while he was suffering to obtain 
the remission of sins for all mankind. The rulers, who now 
imagined they had effectually destroyed his pretensions to the 
character of the Messiah, joined the populace in ridiculing him, 
and with a meaness of soul, which many infamous wretches 
would have scorned, mocked him, even while he was struggling 
with the agonies of death. They scoffed at the miracles by 
which he demonstrated himself to be the Messiah, and promised 
to believe on him, on condition of his proving his pretensions, by 
descending from the cross. "He saved others," said they, "him- 
self he cannot save; if he be the king of Israel, let him now 
come down from the cross, and we will believe on him." 

The soldiers also joined in this general scene of mockery; 
"If thou be the king of the Jews," said they, "save thyself." 
If thou art the great Messiah expected by the Jews, descend 
from the cross by miracle, and deliver thyself from these excru- 
ciating torments. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



391 



Nor could even one of the thieves forbear mocking the great 
Lord of heaven and earth, though laboring himself under the 
most racking pains, and struggling with the agonies of death. 
But the other exercised a most extraordinary faith, at a time 
when our great Redeemer was in the highest affliction, mocked 
by men, and hanged upon the cross, as the most ignominious of 
malefactors. This Jewish criminal seems to have entertained a 
more rational and exalted notion of the Messiah's kingdom than 
even the disciples themselves. They expected nothing but a 
secular empire; he gave strong intimations of his having an idea 
of Christ's spiritual dominion; for at the very time when Jesus 
was dying on the cross, he begged to be remembered by him 
when he came into his kingdom. "Lord," said he, "remember 
me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Nor did he make this 
request in vain: the great Redeemer of mankind answered him, 
" Verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in Para- 
dise." 

But let us attentively consider the history of our blessed Sav- 
iour's passion, as it offers to our view events absolutely astonish- 
ing. For when we remember th? perfect innocence of our great 
Redeemer, the uncommon love he bore to the children of men, 
and the many kind and benevolent offices he did for the sons and 
daughters of affliction; when we reflect on the esteem in which 
he was held all along by the common people, how cheerfully 
they followed him to the remotest corners of the country, nay, 
even into the desolate retreats of the wilderness, and with what 
pleasure they listened to his discourses: when we consider these 
particulars, I say, we cannot help being astonished to find them 
at the conclusion rushing all of a sudden into the opposite ex- 
treme, and every individual, as it were, combined to treat him 
with the most barbarous cruelty. 

When Pilate asked the people if they desired to have Jesus 
released, his disciples, though they were very numerous, and 
might have made a great appearance in his behalf, remained 
absolutely silent, as if they had been speechless or infatuated. 
The Roman soldiers, notwithstanding their general had declared 
him innocent, insulted him in the most inhuman manner. The 
Scribes and Pharisees ridiculed him. The common people, who 
had received him with hosannas, a few days before, mocked him 
as they passed by, and railed at him as a deceiver. Nay, the 
very thief on the cross reviled him. 

This sudden revolution in the humor of the whole nation, may 
seem unaccountable. But if we could assign a proper reason for 
the silence of the disciples, the principles which influenced the 
rest might be discovered in their several speeches. The followers 
of the blessed Jesus had attached themselves to him in expecta- 
tion of being raised to great wealth and power in his kingdom, 



392 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



which they expected would have been established long before 
this time. But seeing no appearance at all of what they had so 
long hoped for, they permitted him to be condemned, perhaps, 
because they thought it would have obliged him to break the 
Roman yoke by miracle. 

With respect to the soldiers, they were angry that any one 
should pretend to royalty in Judea, where Cassar had established 
his authority. Hence they insulted our blessed Saviour with the 
title of king, and paid him, in mockery, the honors of a sovereign. 

As for the common people, they seem to have lost their opinion 
of him, probably because he had neither convinced the council, 
nor rescued himself when they condemned him. They began, 
therefore, to consider the assertion of his destroying the temple, 
and building it in three days, as a kind of blasphemy, because it 
required a divine power to execute such an undertaking. 

The priests and Scribes were filled with the most implacable 
and diabolical malice against him; because he had torn off their 
mask of hypocrisy, and shewed them to the people in their true 
colors. It is, therefore, no wonder that they ridiculed his mira- 
cles, from whence he derived his reputation. 

In short, the thief also fancied that he might have delivered 
both himself and them, if he had been the Messiah; but as no 
such deliverance appeared, he upbraided him for making preten- 
sions to that high character. 

But now, my soul, take one view of thy dying Saviour, breath- 
ing out his soul upon the cross? Behold his unspotted flesh lace- 
rated with stripes, by which thou art healed! See his hands 
extended and nailed to the cross; those beneficent hands, which 
were incessantly stretched out to unloose thy heavy burdens, and 
to impart blessings of every kind! Behold his feet riveted to the 
accursed tree with nails! those feet which always went about 
doing good, and traveled far and near to spread the glad tidings 
of everlasting salvation! View his tender temples encircled 
with a wreath of thorns which shoot their keen afflictive points 
into his blessed head; that head which was ever meditating 
peace to poor lost and undone sinners, and spent many a wakeful 
night in ardent prayer for their happiness! See him laboring 
in the agonies of death? breathing out his soul into the hands of 
his Almighty Father, and praying for his cruel enemies! Was 
ever love like this? Was ever benevolence so finely displayed? 

O my soul, put thou thy trust in that bleeding, that dying 
Saviour! Then, though the pestilence w r alketh in darkness, and 
the sickness destroy eth at noon-day; though thousands fall beside 
thee, and ten thousands at thy right hand, thou needest not fear 
the approach of any evil! Either the destroying angel shall pass 
over thee, or dispense the corrections of a friend, not the scourges 
of an enemy, which instead of hurting, will work for thy good. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



393 



Then, though profaneness and infidelity, far more malignant evils, 
breathe their contagion, and taint multitudes around thee, thou 
shalt be safely hid in the hollow of his hand, and freed from 
every danger. 

Come, then, my soul, let us take sanctuary under that tree 
of life, the ignominious cross of thy bleeding Saviour; let us fly 
for safety to that city of refuge, opened in his bleeding wounds. 
These will prove a sacred hiding place, not to be pierced by the 
flames of divine wrath, or the fiery darts of temptation. His 
dying merits, his perfect obedience, will be "as rivers of water 
in a dry place, or as the shadow of a great rock in a dreary 
land." 

But particularly in that last trememdous day, when the heav- 
ens shall be rent asunder, and be wrapt up like a scroll; when 
his Almighty arm shall arrest the sun in his career, and dash the 
structure of the universe to pieces; when the dead, both small 
and great, shall be gathered before the throne of his glory, and 
the fates of all mankind hang on the very point of a final irre- 
versible decision: then, if thou hast faithfully trusted in him, and 
made his precepts thy constant directors, shalt thou be owned 
and defended by him. O! reader, may both thou that peruseth, 
and him who hath written this for thy soul's advantage, be cov- 
ered at that unutterably important juncture, by the wings of his 
redeeming love; then shall we behold all the horrible convul- 
sions of expiring nature with composure, with comfort! we shall 
even welcome the consummation of all things as the "times of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord." 

But see the sun, that glorious luminary of heaven, as it were, 
hides its face from this detestable action of mortals, and is wrapt 
in the pitchy mantle of chaotic darkness! This preternatural 
eclipse of the sun continued for three hours, to the great terror 
and astonishment of the people present at the crucifixion of our 
dear Redeemer. And surely nothing could be more proper 
than this extraordinary alteration in the face of nature, while 
the Sun of righteousness was withdrawing his beams, not only 
from the promised land, but from the whole world ; for it was at 
once a miraculous testimony given by the Almighty himself to 
the innocence of his Son, and a proper emblem of the departure 
of him who was the light of the world, at least till his luminous 
rays, like the beams of the morning, shone out anew with addi- 
tional splendor in the ministry of his apostles. 

Nor was the darkness which now covered Judea and the 
neighboring countries, beginning about noon and continuing till 
Jesus expired, the effect of an ordinary eclipse of the sun. It is 
well know that this phenomenon can only happen at the change 
of the moon; whereas the Jewish passover, at which our great 
Redeemer suffered, was always celebrated at the full. Besides^ 



394 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the total darkness of an eclipse of the sun never exceeds twelve 
or fifteen minutes, whereas this continued three full hours. 
Nothing, therefore, but the immediate hand of that Almighty 
Being which placed the sun in the centre of the planetary sys- 
tem, could have produced this astonishing darkness. Nothing 
but Omnipotence, who first lighted this glorious luminary of 
heaven, could have deprived it of its cheering rays. Now, ye 
scoffers of Israel, whose blood ye have so earnestly desired, and 
wished it might fall upon you and your children, behold, all 
nature is dressed in the sable veil of sorrow, and, in a language 
that cannot be mistaken, mourns the departure of its Lord and 
Master; weeps for our crimes, and deprecates the vengeance 
of heaven upon your guilty heads! Happy for you, that this 
suffering Jesus is compassion itself, and even in the agonies of 
death, prays to his heavenly Father to avert from you the stroke 
of his justice. 

This preternatural eclipse of the sun was considered as a mira- 
cle by the heathens themselves; and one of them cried out, 
"Either the world is at an end, or the God of nature suffers." 
And well might he use the expression: for never since this plan- 
etary system was called from its primitive chaos, was known 
such a deprivation of light in the glorious luminary of day. In- 
deed, when the Almighty punished Pharaoh for refusing to let 
the children of Israel depart out of his land, the sable veil of 
darkness was for three days drawn over Egypt. But this dark- 
ness was confined to a part of that kingdom; whereas, this that 
happened at our Saviours crucifixion was universal. 

When the darkness began, the disciples naturally considered 
it as a prelude to the deliverance of their Master. For though 
the chief priests, elders and people, had sarcastically desired 
him to descend from the accursed tree, his friends could not but 
be persuaded that he who had delivered so many from incura- 
ble diseases; who had restored limbs to the maimed, and eyes 
to the blind; who had given speech to the dumb, and called 
the dead from the chambers of the dust, might easily save him- 
self, even from the cross. 

When, therefore, his mother, his mother's sister, Mary Mag- 
dalene, and the beloved disciple, observed the veil of darkness 
begin to extend over the face of nature, they drew near to the 
foot of the cross, probably in expectation that the Son of God 
was going to shake the frame of the universe, unloose himself 
from the cross, and take ample vengeance on his cruel and per- 
fidious enemies. 

The blessed Jesus was now in the midst of his sufferings. 
Yet when he saw his mother and her companions, their grief 
greatly affected his tender breast, especially the distress of his 
mother. The agonies of death, under which he was now labor- 



THE CRUCIFIXION. 

[Page 396.] 




"But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not 
his legs ; 

44 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood 
and water." — John xix. 33, 34, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 395 

ing, could not prevent his expressing the most affectionate re- 
gard, both for her and for them. For that she might have some 
consolation to support her under the greatness of her sorrows, 
he told her the disciple whom he loved would, for the sake of 
that love, supply his place to her after he was taken from them, 
even the place of a son 5 and, therefore, he desired her to con- 
sider him as such, and expect from him all the duties of a child. 
"Woman," said he, "behold thy son." 

Nor was this remarkable token of filial affection towards his 
mother the only instance the dying Jesus gave of his sincere 
love to his friends and followers; the beloved disciple had also 
a token of his high esteem. He singled him out as the only 
person among his friends to supply his place with regard to his 
mother. Accordingly, he desired him expressly to reverence 
her in the same manner as if she had been his own parent; a 
duty which the favorite disciple gladly undertook, carried her 
with him to his house, and maintained her from that hour to the 
day of her death; her husband Joseph, having, it seems, been 
dead some time. 

Thus, in the midst of the heaviest sufferings that human nature 
ever sustained, the blessed Jesus demonstrated a divine strength 
of benevolence. Even at the time when his own distress was 
at the highest pitch, and nature was dressed in the robe of 
mourning for the sufferings of the Redeemer of mankind, his 
frieids had so large a share of his concern, that their happiness 
interrupted the sharpness of his pains, and for a short time en- 
grossed his thoughts. 

But now the moment when he should resign his soul into the 
hands of his heavenly Father, approached, and he repeated part, 
at least, of the twenty-second Psalm, uttering, with a loud voice 
these remarkable words, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani ?" that is, 
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsoken me?" Or, as the 
words may be rendered, "My God, my God, how long a time 
hast thou forsaken me?" 

Some believe that our blessed Saviour repeated the whole 
Psalm; it having been the custom of the Jews, in making quota- 
tions, to mention only the first words of the Psalm or Section 
which they cited. If so, as this Psalm contains the most re- 
markable particulars of our dear Redeemer's passion, being, as 
it were, a summary of the prophecies relative to that subject, by 
repeating it on the cross, the blessed Jesus signified that he was 
now accomplishing the things that were predicted concerning 
the Messiah. And as this Psalm is composed in the form of a 
prayer, by pronouncing it at this time, he also claimed of his 
Father the performance of all the promises he had made, 
whether to him, or to his people. 

Some of the people who stood by, when they heard our 

4f] 



396 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



blessed Saviour pronounce the first words of the Psalm, misun- 
derstood him, probably from their not hearing him distinctly, 
and concluded that he called for Elias. Upon which one of 
them filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave 
him to drink; being desirous to keep him alive as long as pos- 
sible, to see whether Elias would come to take him down from 
the cross. 

But as soon as Jesus had tasted the vinegar, he said. "It is 
finished." That is, the work of man's redemption is accom- 
plished; the great work which the only begotten Son of God 
came into the world to perform, is finished. 

In speaking these words he cried with an exceeding loud 
voice; and afterwards addressed his Almighty Father, in words 
which form the best pattern of a recommendatory prayer, at the 
hour of death, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
And having uttered these words, he bowed his head, and yielded 
up the ghost." 

But behold! at the very instant that the blessed Jesus re- 
signed his soul into the hands of his heavenly Father, the veil of 
the temple was miraculously rent from the top to the bottom; 
probably in the presence of the priest, who burnt incense in the 
holy place, and who. doubtless, published the account when he 
came out: for our blessed Saviour expired at the ninth hour, the 
very time of offering the evening sacrifice. 

Nor was this the only miracle that happened at the death of 
the great Messiah; the earth trembled from its very foundations, 
the flinty rocks burst asunder, and the sepulchres hewn in them 
were opened; and many bodies of saints deposited there awak- 
ened, after his resurrection, from the sleep of death, left the 
gloomy chambers of the tomb, went into the city of Jerusalem, 
and appeared unto many. 

And as the rending the veil of the temple intimated that the 
entrance into the holy place, the type of heaven, was now laid 
open to all nations; so the resurrection of a number of saints 
from the dead, demonstrated that the power of death, and the 
grave, was broken; the sting was taken from death, and the 
victory wrested from the grave. In short, our dear Redeemer's 
conquests over the enemies of mankind were shown to be com- 
plete; and an earnest was given of the general resurrection of 
the dead. 

Nor did the remarkable particulars which attended that awful 
period, when Jesus gave up the ghost, affect the natives of Judea 
only. The Roman centurion, who was placed near the cross, 
to prevent disorders of any kind, glorifitd the Almighty, and 
cried out. "Truly this was the Son of God?" And others who 
were with them, when they beheld heaven itself bearing witness 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



399 



of the truth of our great Redeemers mission, smote their breasts, 
and retired. 

They had been incessant with loud voices, to have him cruci- 
fied; but when they saw the face of the creation wrapped in the 
gloomy mantle of darkness, during his crucifixion, and found his 
death accompanied with an earthquake, as if nature had been 
in an agony when he died, they rightly interpreted these prodi- 
gies to be so many testimonies from the Almighty, of his inno- 
cence; and their passions, which had been inflamed and exas- 
perated against him, became quite calm, or exerted in his behalf. 
Some were angry with themselves for neglecting the opportu- 
nity the governor gave them of saving his life. Some were 
stung with remorse for having been active in procuring Pilate 
to condemn him, and even offering the most bitter insults, while 
he labored under the crudest of sufferings. And others were 
deeply affected at beholding the pains he suffered, which were 
rigorously severe. 

These various passions being visibly painted in their counte- 
nances, afforded a melancholy spectacle: many of the multitude 
returning from the cruel execution with their eyes fixed upon 
the earth, pensive and silent; their hearts ready to burst with 
grief, groaning deeply within themselves, shedding floods of 
tears, and smiting on their breasts. 

The grief they now felt for the blessed Jesus was distinguished 
from their former rage against him by this remarkable particu- 
lar, that their rage was entirely owing to the artful insinuations 
of the priests; whereas their grief was genuine, and the natural 
feelings of their own hearts, greatly affected with the truth and 
innocence of him who was the object of their commiseration. 
And as flattery had no share in this mourning, so the expres- 
sions of their sorrow were such as became a real and unfeigned 
passion. 

Thus were demonstrated, by many awful tokens, the truth, 
the divinity, the power of our Redeemer's mission: the blind, 
the obdurate Jews were struck with horror, fully convinced that 
the person they had cruelly put to death, was nothing less than 
the Son and Servant of God, the promised Messiah, the Saviour 
of the World. 



400 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XL. 

The blessed Jesus treated with indignity after the Crucifiotion* — A 
pious person begs his body of Pilate^ in order for interment. 

It was expressly forbidden by the law of Moses, that the 
bodies of those who were hanged should remain all night on the 
tree. In conformity to this law, and because the Sabbath was 
at hand, the Jews begged the governor that the legs of the three 
persons crucified might be broken, to hasten their death. To 
this request Pilate readily consented; and accordingly gave the 
necessary order to the soldiers to put it in execution. 

But on perceiving that Jesus was already dead, the soldiers did 
not give themselves the trouble of breaking his legs, as they had 
done those of the two malefactors that were crucified with him. 
One of them, however, either out of wantonness or cruelty, thrust 
a spear into his side, and out of the wound flowed blood and 
water. 

This wound, therefore, was of the greatest importance to man- 
kind, as it abundantly demonstrated the truth of our Saviour's 
death, and consequently prevented all objection that the enemies 
to our holy faith would otherwise have raised against it. The 
Evangelist adds, that the legs of our great Redeemer were not 
broken, but his side pierced, that two particular prophecies might 
be fulfilled: "A bone of him shall not be broken;" and, "they 
shall look on him whom they have pierced. 

Among the disciples of our blessed Jesus, was one called 
Joseph of Arimathea; a person equally remarkable for his birth, 
fortune, and office. This man, who was not be intimidated by 
the malice of his countrymen went boldly to Pilate, and begged 
the body of his great Master. He had, indeed, nothing to fear 
from the Roman governor, who, during the whole course of our 
Saviour's trial, had shown the greatest inclination to release him; 
but he had reason to apprehend that this action might draw 
upon him the malice of the rulers of the Jews, who had taken 
such great pains to get the Messiah crucified. 

However, the great regard he had for the remains of his Mas- 
ter, made him despise the malice of the Jews; being persuaded 
that Omnipotence would defend him, and cover his enemies with 
shame and confusion. And he well knew, that if no friend pro- 
cured a grant of the body, it would be ignominiously cast out 
among the executed malefactors. 

Pilate was at first surprised at the request of Joseph, thinking 
it higly improbable that he should be dead in so short a time. 
He had, indeed, given orders for the soldiers to break the legs of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



401 



the crucified persons; but he knew it was common for them to 
live many hours after that operation was performed; for though 
the pain they felt must be exquisite to the last degree, yet, as the 
vital parts remained untouched, life would continue some time in 
the miserable body. 

The governor, therefore, called the centurion, to know the 
truth of what Joseph had told him; and being convinced, from 
the answer of that officer, that Jesus had been dead some time, 
he readily gave the body to Joseph. 

This worthy counsellor having obtained his request, repaired to 
Mount Calvary; and, being assisted by Nicodemus, took the 
body down from the cross. The latter was formerly so cautious 
in visiting Jesus that he came to him by night. But in paying 
the last duties to his Master, he used no art to conceal his design. 
He showed a courage far superior to that of any of his apostles, 
not only assisting Joseph in taking down the body of Jesus from 
the cross, but bringing with him a quantity of spices, necessary 
in the burial of his Saviour. 

Accordingly they wrapt the body with the spices in fine linen, 
and laid it in a new sepulchre, which Joseph had hewn out of a 
rock for himself. This sepulchre was situated in a garden, near 
Mount Calvary: and in which having carefully deposited the body 
of the blessed Jesus, they fastened the door, by rolling to it a very 
large stone. "And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapt 
it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which 
he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the 
door of the sepulchre, and departed." Matt, xxvii. 59, 60. 

The women of Galilee, who had watched their dear Redeemer 
in his last moments, and accompanied his body to the sepulchre, 
observing that the funeral rites were performed in a hurry, agreed 
among themselves, as soon as the Sabbath was passed, to return 
to the sepulchre, and embalm the body of their dead Saviour, 
by anointing and swathing him in the manner then common 
among the Jews. Accordingly they retired to the city, and pur- 
chased the spices necessary for that purpose; Nicodemus having 
furnished only a mixture of myrrh and aloes. 

During these transactions, the chief priests and Pharisees, 
remembering that Jesus had more than once predicted his own 
resurrection, came to the governor, and informed him of it, beg- 
ging, at the same time, that a guard might be placed at the 
sepulchre, lest his disciples should carry away the body, and 
affirm that he was risen from the dead. This happened a little 
before it was dark in the evening, called "the next day that 
followed," by the Evangelist, because the Jewish day began at 
sunset. 

This request being thought reasonable by Pilate, he gave them 
leave to take as many soldiers as they pleased, out of the cohort, 



402 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



which at the feast came from the castle of Antonia, and kept 
guard of the porticos of the temple. For that they were not 
Jewish, but Roman soldiers, whom the priests employed to watch 
the sepulchre, is evident, from their asking them of the governor. 
Besides, when the soldiers returned with the news of our Sav- 
iour's resurrection, the priests desired them to report that his 
disciples had stolen him away while they slept: and to encourage 
them to tell the falsehood boldly, promised that if their neglect 
of duty came to the governor's ears, proper methods should be 
used to pacify him, and deliver them from any punishment: a 
promise which there was no need of making to their own ser- 
vants. 

The priests having thus obtained a guard of Roman soldiers, 
men ldng accustomed to military duties, and therefore the most 
proper for watching the body, set out with them to the sepulchre; 
and to prevent these guards from combining with the disciples 
in carrying on any fraud, placed them at their post, and sealed 
the stone which was rolled to the door of the sepulchre. 

Thus what was designed to expose the mission and doctrines 
of Jesus, as rank falsehood and vile imposture, proved in fact 
the strongest confirmation of the truth and divinity of the same, 
that could possibly be given ; and placed what they wanted to 
refute (which was his resurrection from the dead) even beyond 
a doubt. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Two pious Women go to view the Sepulchre of their crucified Lord 
and Saviour. — An awful phenomenon happens. — A ministering 
Spirit descends. — The Redeemer bursts the chains of death, and 
rises from the confines of the grave. 

Very early in the morning, after the Sabbath, Mary Magda- 
lene and the other Mary came to visit the sepulchre, in order to 
embalm our Lord's body; for the performance of which, they 
had, in concert with several other women from Galilee, brought 
unguents and spices. But before they reached the sepulchre, 
there was a great earthquake preceding the most memorable 
event that ever happened among the children of men, the resur- 
rection of the Son of God from the dead. "For the angel of 
the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the 
stone from the door of the sepulchre, and sat upon it; his coun- 
tenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and 
for fear of him the keepers did shake, and become as dead men ;" 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



403 



they fled into the city, and the Saviour of the world rose from 
the dead. 

The angel, who had, till then, sat upon the stone, quitted his 
station, and entered into the sepulchre. In the mean time, Mary 
Magdalene, and the other Mary were still on their way to the 
sepulchre, together with Salome, who joined them on the road. 
As they proceeded on their way, they consulted among them- 
selves, with regard to the method of putting their design of em- 
balming the body of their Master into execution; particularly 
with respect to the enormous stone which they had seen placed 
there, with the utmost difficulty, two days before. "Who," said 
they, "shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 
For it was very great." But in the midst of this deliberation 
about removing this great and sole obstacle to their design (for 
it does not appear they knew any thing of the guard) they lifted 
up their eyes, and perceived it was already rolled away. 

Alarmed at so extraordinary and unexpected a circumstance, 
Mary Magdalene concluded, that the stone could not have been 
rolled away without some design; and that those who rolled it 
away could have no other intent than that of removing our 
Lord's body. Imagining, by appearances, that they had really 
done so, she ran immediately to acquaint Peter and John of what 
she had seen, and what she suspected; leaving Mary and Salome 
there, that if the other women should arrive during her absence, 
they might acquaint them with their surprise, at finding the stone 
removed, and of Mary Magdalene's running to inform the apos- 
tles of it. 

In the mean time, the soldiers, who were terrified at seeing an 
awful messenger from on high roll away the stone from the door 
of the sepulchre, and open it in quality of a servant, fled into 
the city, and informed the rulers of these miraculous appearances. 
This account was highly mortifying to the chief priests, as it was 
a proof of our Saviour's resurrection that could not be denied: 
they, therefore, resolved to stifle it immediately: and accordingly 
bribed the soldiers to conceal the real fact, and to publish every 
where, that his disciples had stolen the body out of the sepulchre. 

What! the body taken away while the sepulchre was guarded 
by Roman soldiers? Yes, the disciples stole the body while the 
soldiers slept! A story so inconsistent, and which so evidently 
carries the marks of its own confutation with it, that it deserves 
no answer. 

The priests themselves could not be so stupid as not to foresee 
what constructions the world would put upon the account given 
by persons who pretended to know and tell what was done while 
they were asleep. 



404 LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

The angel addresses the pious Women, — Two disciples go to the Sepul- 
chre. — Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. — Afterwards to a com- 
pany of Women. — Peter meets his Lord and Master, after his 
Resurrection. 

While Mary Magdalene was going to inform the disciples 
that the stone was rolled away from the mouth of the sepulchre, 
and the body taken away, Mary and Salome continued advanc- 
ing towards the sepulchre, and at their arrival found what they 
expected, the body of their beloved Master gone from the place 
where it had been deposited by Nicodemus and Joseph of Ari- 
mathea; but at the same time beheld, to their great astonish- 
ment, a beautiful young man, in shining raiment, very glorious 
to behold, sitting on the right side of the sepulchre. 

Matthew tells us that it was an angel who had rolled away 
the stone, and frightened away the guards from the sepulchre. 
It seems he had now laid aside the terrors in which he was then 
arrayed, and assumed the form and dress of a human being, in 
order that these pious women, who had accompanied our Saviour 
during the greatest part of the time of his public ministry, might 
be as little terrified as possible. 

But notwithstanding his beauty and benign appearance, they 
were greatly affrighted, and on the point of turning back, when 
the heavenly messenger, to banish their fears, told them, in a 
gentle accent, that he knew their errand. "Fear not," said he, 
" for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not 
here; for he is. risen, as he said:" and then invited them to come 
down into the sepulchre, and view the place where the Son of 
God had lain: that is, to look on the linen clothes, and the 
napkin that had been about his head, and which he had left be- 
hind him when he arose from the dead: for to look at the place 
in any other view would not have tended to confirm their faith 
of his resurrection. . 

The women, greatly encouraged by the agreeable news, as 
well as by the peculiar accent with which this sweet messenger 
from the heavenly Canaan delivered his speech, went down 
into the sephulchre, when, behold, another of the angelic choir 
appeared. 

They did not, however, yet seem to give sufficient credit to 
what was told them by the angel; and therefore the other 
gently chid them for seeking the living among the dead, with 
an intention to do him an office due only to the latter, and for 
not believing what was told them by a messenger from heaven, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



405 



or rather for not remembering the words which their great Mas- 
ter himself had told them with regard to his own resurrection. 
"Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but 
is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in 
Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the 
hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise 
again." 

When the women had satisfied their minds by looking at the 
place where the Lord had lain, and where nothing was to be 
found but the linen clothes, the angel who first appeared to 
them resumed the discourse, and bade them go and tell hit 
disciples, particularly Peter, the glad tidings of his Masters 
resurrection from the dead; that he was going before them to 
Galilee; and that they should there have the pleasure of see- 
ing him 

The reason why the disciples were ordered to go into Galilee 
to meet their great and beloved Master, seems to be this: they 
were now most of them in Jerusalem, celebrating the passover; 
and it may be easily imagined, that, on receiving the news of 
their Lord's resurrection, many, if not all, would resolve to tarry 
in Jerusalem, in expectation of meeting him there: a thing that 
must have proved of great detriment to them, at that time of 
the year, when the harvest was about to begin, the sheaf of 
first fruits being always offered on the second day of the pass- 
over week. 

In order, therefore, to prevent their staying so long from 
home, the message was sent directing them to return into 
Galilee, with full assurance that they should there have the 
pleasure of seeing their great Lord and Master; and by that 
means have all their doubts removed, and be fully convinced 
that he had patiently undergone all his sufferings for the sins 
of mankind. 

The women, highly elated with the news of their Lord's re- 
surrection, left the sepulchre immediately, and ran to carry the 
disciples the glad tidings. 

During these transactions at the sepulchre, Peter and John, 
having been informed by Mary Magdalene, that the stone was 
rolled away, and the body of Jesus not to be found, were hasten- 
ing to the grave, and missed the women who had seen the ap- 
pearance of angels. 

The disciples being astonished at what Mary Magdalene had 
told them, and desirous of having their doubts cleared up, made 
all the haste possible to the sepulchre; and John, being younger 
than Peter, arrived at the sepulchre first, but did not go in, con- 
tenting himself with stooping down, and seeing the linen clothes 
lying, which had been wrapped about our Saviour's body. Peter 
soon arrived, and went to the sepulchre, where he saw the 

47 



406 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



"linen clotbes lie: and the napkin that was about his head not 
lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by 
itself." 

Our Lord left the grave clothes in the sepulchre, probably to 
show that his body was not stolen away by his disciples, who in 
such a case would not have taken time to have stripped it. Be- 
sides, the circumstances of the grave clothes induced the disci- 
ples themselves to believe when the resurrection was related to 
them. But at that time they had not any suspicion that he was 
risen from the dead. 

These two disciples having thus satisfied themselves that what 
Mary Magdalene had told them was really true, returned to 
their respective habitations; but Mary continued weeping at the 
door of the sepulchre. She had, it seems, followed Peter and 
John to the garden, but did not return with them, being anxious 
to find the body. Accordingly, stepping down into the sepul- 
chre to examine it once more, she saw two angels sitting, the 
one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of 
Jesus had lain. They were now in the same position as when 
they appeared to the other women; but had rendered themselves 
invisible while Peter and John were at the sepulchre. 

Mary on beholding these heavenly messengers, dressed in the 
robes of light, was greatly terrified. But they, in the most en- 
dearing accent, asked her, Woman, why weepest thou? To 
which she answered, "Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him." On. pronouncing 
these words, she turned herself about, and saw Jesus standing 
near her; but the terror she was in, and the garments in which 
he was now dressed, prevented her from knowing him for some 
time. Jesus repeated the same question used before by the 
angel, "Woman, why weepest thou?" To which Mary, who 
now supposed him to be the gardener, answered, Sir, if his body 
be troublesome in the sepulchre, and thou hast removed him, tell 
me where he is deposited, and I will take him away. But our 
blessed Saviour, willing to remove her anxiety, called her by 
her name, with his usual tone of voice, on which she immedi- 
ately knew him; and falling down before him, would have em- 
braced his knees, according to that modesty and reverence with 
which the women of the East saluted the men, especially those 
who were their superiors in station. 

But Jesus refused this compliment, telling her, that he was 
not going immediately into heaven. He was often to show him- 
self to the disciples, before he ascended; so that she would have 
frequent opportunities of testifying her regard to him, And at 
the same time, said to her, "Go to my brethren, and say unto 
them, I ascend to my Father and your Father; and to my God 
and your God." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



407 



Thus did the blessed Jesus contemplate, with a singular plea- 
sure, the work of redemption he had just finished. The happy 
relation between God and man, which had been long cancelled 
by sin, was now renewed. The iilmighty, who had disowned 
them on account of their disobedience, was again reconciled to 
them; he was become their ,God and Father: they were exalted 
to the honorable relation of Christ's brethren, and the sons of 
God; and their Father loved them with an affection far exceed- 
ing that of the most tender hearted parent upon earth. The 
kindness of this message sent by our dear Redeemer to his dis- 
ciples, w r ill appear above all praise, if we remember their late 
behavior. They had every one of them forsaken him in the 
greatest extremity; when he was scourged and mocked by the 
Roman soldiers, derided by his countrymen, and spitefully en- 
treated by all, they hid themselves in some place of safety, and 
preferred their own security to the deliverance of their Master. 
When he fainted under the burden of his cross, none of them 
were there to assist him. 

Simon, a Cyrenian, was compelled by the Roman soldiers to 
ease him of his ponderous burden. But notwithstanding they 
had refused to assist their Master during his sufferings for the 
sins of the world, he graciously, he freely forgave them; he as- 
sured them of their pardon, and called them even by the endear- 
ing name of brethren. 

There is something very remarkable in this part of the his- 
tory. None of the apostles or male disciples were honored with 
the first appearance of the angels, or with the immediate news 
of the resurrection of the Son of God, much less with the ap- 
pearance of Jesus himself. 

The angels in the sepulchre kept themselves invisible all the 
time that Peter and John were observing the linen clothes, and 
satisfying themselves that the body of their Master was not 
there. Perhaps the male disciples in general were treated with 
this mark of disrespect, both because they had, with shameful 
cowardice, forsaken their Master when he was betrayed into the 
hands of his enemies, and because their faith was so weak that 
they had absolutely despaired of his being the Messiah, when 
they saw him expire on the cross. But how different was the 
conduct of the women! Laying aside the weakness and timidity 
natural to their sex, they showed an uncommon magnanimity on 
this melancholy occasion. For in contradiction to those of the 
Jews, who so vehemently required Jesus to be crucified as a 
deceiver, they proclaimed his innocence by tears, cries, and 
lamentations, when they saw him led forth to suffer on Mount 
Calvary; accompanied him to the cross, the most infamous of 
all punishments; kindly waited on him in his expiring moments, 
giving him all the consolation in their power, though at the 



408 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



same time the sight of his sufferings pierced them to the heart; 
and when he expired and his body was carried off, they accom- 
panied him to his grave, not despairing, though they found he 
had not delivered himself, but to appearance was conquered by 
death, the universal enemy of mankind. Perhaps these pious 
women entertained some faint hopes that he would still revive. 
Or, if they did not entertain expectations of that kind, they at 
least cherished a strong degree of love for their Lord, and deter- 
mined to do him all the honor in their power. 

A faith so remarkably strong, a love so ardent, and a forti- 
tude so unshaken, could not fail of receiving distinguished marks 
of the divine approbation; and they were accordingly honored 
with the news of Christ's resurrection, before the male disciples 
had their eyes cheered with the first sight of their beloved 
Lord, after he arose from the chambers of the grave; so that 
they preached the joyful tidings of his resurrection to the apos- 
tles themselves. 

But there seem to have been other reasons why our great 
Redeemer showed himself first to the women. The thoughts of 
the apostles were constantly fixed on a temporal kingdom, and 
they had wrested all his words into an agreement with that 
favorite notion. And whatever they could not construe as con- 
sonant to that opinion, the}* seemed either to have disbelieved, 
or disregarded. 

Hence, notwithstanding Jesus had repeatedly foretold his 
own sufferings, they were astonished above measure, when they 
found he had expired on the cross. Immortality and terrestrial 
dominion were, according to their notion, the characteristics of 
the Messiah: for which reason, when they found that instead of 
establishing himself in the possession of universal empire, he 
had neither delivered himself from a handful of enemies, nor 
even from death, they gave over the hopes of his being the 
Messiah. And as for his resurrection, they seem not to have 
entertained the least notion of it; so that when the news of this 
great event was brought to them, they doubted the truth of the 
information. 

Not so the women; they were more submissive to their Mas- 
ter's instructions, and consequently were much better prepared 
for seeing him after his resurrection than the apostles ; for 
though they did not expect that he would rise from the dead, 
yet they were not prejudiced against it. This cannot be said of 
the apostles: they not only absolutely rejected the matter, at 
first, as a thing incredible, but even after they were acquainted 
with the account the soldiers had given of this great transaction; 
nay, after they had seen the blessed Jesus himself, some of them 
were so unreasonable as still to doubt. How much rather then, 
would their incredulity have led them to suspect his appearing 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



409 



as an illusion, had he showed himself to them? These reports 
led him to point out the arguments proper for disposing them 
to believe: particularly the prophecies that had been so often 
delivered in their own hearing, concerning his resurrection. 
Hence the angels, when they told this event to the women, and 
desired them to carry the news of it to his disciples, put them in 
mind of the predictions Jesus himself had made, as a confirma- 
tion of it. Hence we also see the reason why Jesus, before he 
had made himself known to the disciples at Emmaus, had pre- 
pared them for a discovery, by expounding to them on the road, 
the several prophecies concerning the Messiah, contained in the 
Old Testament. 

The women, on their arrival, told as many of the disciples as 
they could find, that they had seen at the sepulchre the appear- 
ance of angels, who assured them that Jesus was risen from the 
dead. This new information astonished the disciples exceed- 
ingly; and as they had before sent Peter and John to examine 
into the truth of what Mary Magdalene had told them, concern- 
ing the body being removed out of the sepulchre, so they now 
judged it highly proper to send some of their number to see the 
angels, and learn from them the joyful tidings of that great 
transaction, of which the women had given them an account. 

That it was really the case, appears from what the disciples, 
in their journey to Emmaus, told their great Lord and Master; 
namely, that when the women came and told them that they 
had seen the angels, certain of their number went to the sepul- 
chre, and found it even as the women had said, but him they 
saw not. 

The second deputation from the apostles did not go alone; for 
as Mary Magdalene returned with Peter and John, who were 
sent to examine the truth of her information, so the women who 
brought an account of the appearance of angels, in all proba- 
bility returned with those who were sent to be witnesses of the 
truth of their report. Besides curiosity, they had an errand 
thither. The angels had expressly ordered them to tell the 
news to Peter, in particular; for which reason, when they un- 
derstood that he was gone to the sepulchre, it is natural to think 
they would return with the disciples to seek him. About the 
time that the disciples and women set out for the sepulchre, 
Peter and John reached the city; but passing through a differ- 
ent street, did not meet their brethren. 

The disciples having a great desire to reach the sepulchre, 
soon left the women behind, and just as they arrived, Mary Mag- 
dalene, having seen the Lord, was coming away. But they did 
not meet her, because they entered the garden at one door, 
while she was coming out at another. When they came to the 
sepulchre, they saw the angels, and received from them the 



410 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



news of their blessed Masters resurrection; for St. Luke tells us. 
66 They found it even as the women had said.'- Highly elated 
with what they saw, they departed and ran back to the city, 
with such expedition, that they gave an account of what they 
had seen, in the hearing of the two disciples, before Mary Mag- 
dalene arrived. 

Nor will their speed appear at all incredible, if we consider 
that the nature of the tidings the apostles had to carry gave them 
wings, as it were, to make their brethren partakers of their joy 
at this surprising transaction. 

In the mean time, the company of women, who followed the 
disciples, happened to meet Peter and John. But they had not 
gone far from the sepulchre, before Jesus himself met them, 
and said "All hail!" On which they approached their great 
Lord and Master, "held him by the feet and worshipped him.'* 
This favor of embracing his knees, Jesus had before refused to 
Mary Magdalene, because it was not then necessary: but he 
granted it to the women, because the angels' words having 
strongly impressed their minds with the notion of his resurrec- 
tion, they might have taken his appearance for an illusion of 
their own imagination, had he not permitted them to touch him, 
and convince themselves, by the united reports of their senses, 
that he was their great Lord and Master, who was then risen 
from the dead, after having suffered on the cross for the sins of 
mankind. 

This company of pious women having tarried some time with 
Jesus on the road, did not arrive with the joyful tidings of their 
great Master's resurrection, till some time after Peter and John; 
and perhaps were overtaken by Mary Magdalene on the road, 
unless we suppose that she arrived a few minutes before them. 
But be that as it may, this is certain, that they arrived either at, 
or near, the same time, so that their accounts of this miraculous 
event tended to confirm each other. 

The disciples were now lost in astonishment at what the 
women had related; they considered the account they had be- 
fore given of them, of their having seen the angels, as an impro- 
bability, and now they seem to have considered this as something 
worse; for the Evangelists tells us, that they "believed not."" 

Peter, indeed, to whom the angel sent the message, was dis- 
posed, by his sanguine temper, to give a little more credit to 
their words than the rest: possibly, because the messengers from 
the heavenly Canaan had done him the honor of naming him in 
particular. 

Elated with the respect paid him in particular, he immediately 
repaired again to the sepulchre: hoping, in all probability, that 
his Master would appear to him, or at least, the angel, who had 
so particularly distinguished him from the rest of the disciples. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 411 

As soon as Peter arrived at the sepulchre, he stooped down, 
and seeing the linen clothes lying in the same manner as before, 
he viewed their position, the form in which they were laid, and 
returned, wondering greatly in himself at what had happened. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

Jesus appears, on divers occasions, to different Disciples. — Reproves 
and convinces Thomas of his unbelief. — Shows himself to a great 
number of his followers in Galilee, 

Soon after the woman's first return to the disciples with the 
news that they had seen the appearance of angels, who told them 
that Jesus was risen from the dead, two of the brethren departed 
on their journey to a village called Emmaus, about two miles 
distant from Jerusalem. The concern they were in, on account 
of the death of their great and beloved Master, was sufficiently 
visible in their countenances. And as they pursued their jour- 
ney, talking with one another, and debating about the things 
that had lately happened among them, concerning the life and 
doctrine, the sufferings and death of the holy Jesus, and of the 
report that was just spread among his disciples, of his being that 
very morning risen from the dead, Jesus himself overtook them, 
and joined company with them. 

As he appeared like a stranger, they did not in the least sus- 
pect that their fellow-traveler was no other than the great 
Redeemer of the sons of men. He soon entered into discourse 
with them, by inquiring what event had so closely engaged them 
in conversation, and why they appeared so sorrowful and de- 
jected, as if they had met with some heavy disappointment. 

One of them, whose name was Cleophas, being surprised at 
the question, replied, Is it possible that you can be so great a 
stranger to the affairs of the world, as to have been at Jerusa- 
lem, and not have heard the surprising events that have hap- 
pened there? Events that have astonished the whole city, and 
are now the common topic of conversation among all the inhab- 
itants? Jesus asked what surprising events he meant. To 
which Cleophas replied, The transactions which have happened 
concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who appeared as a great prophet 
and teacher sent from God; and accordingly was highly vene- 
rated among the people, for the excellency of his doctrine, his 
humility of life, and the number, benefit, and greatness of his 
miracles. 

Our chief priests and elders therefore envying him as one who 



412 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



lessened their authority over the people, apprehended him. and 
found means to put him to death. 

But we firmly believed he would have proved himself the 
Messiah, or great Deliverer: and this persuasion we a long time 
supported: nor were we willing to abandon it. even when we 
saw him put to death. But it is now three days since these 
things were done; and, therefore, we begin to fear he was mis- 
taken. 

This very morning, indeed, a thing happened, which extremely 
surprises us, and we are very solicitous with regard to the event. 
Some women who had entertained the same hopes and expecta- 
tions as we, going early in the morning to pay the last duties to 
their Master, by embalming his body, returned with great haste 
to the city, and informed us that they had been to the sepulchre, 
but were disappointed in not finding the body: and to increase 
our surprise, they added, that they had seen an appearance of 
angels, who told them that Jesus was arisen from the dead. 

This relation seemed at first to us not probable; nay. alto- 
gether incredible; but two of the company going immediately 
after to the sepulchre, found every thing exactly as the women 
had reported; they saw the angels, but heard not any thing of 
the body: so that we are still in doubt and perplexity, with 
regard to this memorable event. 

In reply, Jesus said. Why are ye so very averse to believe all 
that the prophets have with one voice predicted concerning the 
Messiah? Is it not clearly and very expressly foretold in all the 
prophetic writings, that it was appointed by the counsel of Om- 
nipotence for the Messiah to suffer in this manner: and that after 
sustaining the greatest indignities, reproach, and contempt, from 
the malice and perverseness of mankind, and even undergoing an 
ignominious and cruel death, he should be exalted to a glorious 
and eternal kingdom? Having said this, he began at the writ- 
ings of Moses, and explained to them, in order, all the principal 
passages, both in the books of that great legislator, and the 
writings of the other prophets, relating to his own sufferings, 
death, and glorious resurrection. 

And this he did with such surprising plainness, clearness, and 
strength, that the two disciples, not yet suspecting who he was, 
were as much amazed to find a stranger so well acquainted with 
all that Jesus did and suffered, as they at first wondered at his 
appearing to be totally ignorant of these transactions. They 
were also astonished to hear him interpret and applv the Scrip- 
tures to their present purpose with such readiness and convincing 
clearness of argument, as carried with it a strange and unusual 
authority and efficacy. When, therefore, they came to the vil- 
lage whither they were going, and Jesus seemed as if he would 
have passed on, and traveled further, they desirous of his com- 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



413 



pany. pressed him, in the strongest manner, to tarry with them 
that night, as it was then late. 

To this request the great Redeemer of mankind consented; 
and when they were set down to supper, he took bread and gave 
thanks to God. and brake it, and gave it to them, in the same 
manner he used to do. while he conversed with them upon earth, 
before his death. This engaged their attention, and looking 
steadfastly on him, they perceived it was their great and beloved 
Master. 

But they had then no time to express their joy and astonish- 
ment to their benevolent Redeemer: for he immediately vanished 
out of their sight. 

As soon as they found their Master was departed, they said 
one to another, How slow and stupid were we before, not to 
know him upon the road, while he explained to us the Scrip- 
tures: when, besides the affability of his discourse, and the 
strength and clearness of his argument, we perceived such an 
authority in what he said, and such a powerful efficacy attending 
his words, and striking our hearts with affection, that we could 
not but have known him (if we had not been remarkably stupid) 
to have been the very same that used to accompany his teaching, 
and was peculiar to it. 

This surprising event would not admit them to stay any longer 
in Emmaus. They returned that very night to Jerusalem, and 
found the apostles, with several other disciples, discoursing about 
the resurrection of their Master: and on their entering the room 
the disciples accosted them, saying, -The Lord is risen indeed, 
and hath appeared unto Simon." 

They had given little credit to the reports of the women, sup- 
posing they were occasioned more by imagination than reality. 
But when a person of Peter's capacity and gravity declared he 
had seen the Lord, they began so think he was really risen from 
the dead. And their belief was greatly confirmed by the arrival 
of the two disciples from Emmaus. who declared to their breth- 
ren, how Jesus appeared to them on the road, and how they 
discovered him to be their Master by the circumstances before 
related. 

A\ hile the disciples from Emmaus were thus describing the 
manner of the appearance of Jesus to them, and offering argu- 
ments to convince those who doubted the truth of it. their great 
Master himself put an end to the debate, by standing in the midst 
of them, and saying. "Peace be unto you." 

This appearance of oar blessed Saviour greatly terrified the 
disciples, who supposed they had seen a spirit; for, having 
secured the doors of the house, where they were assembled, for 
fear of the Jews, and Jesus having opened the locks by his 
miraculous power, without the knowledge of any in the house, 

48 



414 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



it was natural for them to think, that a spirit only could enter,. 
The circumstance, therefore, of the doors being shut, is very 
happily mentioned by St. John; because it suggests a reason 
why the disciples took their Master for a spirit, notwithstanding 
many of them were convinced that he was really risen from 
the dead, and were at that moment conversing about his resur- 
rection. 

But, to dispel their fears and doubts, Jesus came forward, and 
spoke to them in the most endearing accent; showed them his 
hands and his feet, and desired them to handle him, in order to 
convince themselves by the united powers of their different 
senses, that it was he himself, and no spectre or apparition. 
"Why are ye troubled," said the benevolent Redeemer, of man- 
kind, "and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my 
hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see, for a 
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." 

These infallible proofs sufficiently convinced the disciples of the 
truth of their Lord's resurrection, and they received him with rap- 
ture and exultation. But their joy and wonder had so great an 
effect upon their minds, that some of them, sensible of the great 
commotion they were in, suspended the?? belief, till they had 
considered the matter more calmly. Jesus, therefore, knowing 
their thoughts, called for meat and ate with them, in order to 
prove more fully the truth of his resurrection from the dead, and 
the reality of his presence with them on this occasion. 

After giving this farther ocular demonstration of his having 
vanquished the power of death, and opened the tremendous por- 
tals of the grave, he again repeated his salutation, "Peace be 
unto you." Adding, "The same commission that my Father 
hath given unto me, I give unto you: go ye therefore into every 
part of the world, and preach the Gospel to all the children of 
men." Then breathing on them, he said, "Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost, to direct and assist you in the execution of your com- 
mission. Whosoever embraces your doctrine, and sincerely re- 
pents, ye shall remit his sins, and your sentence of absolution 
shall be ratified and confirmed in the courts of heaven. And 
whosoever either obstinately rejects your doctrine, disobeys it, 
or behaves himself unworthily, after he hath embraced it, his 
sins shall not be forgiven him; but the censure ye shall pass 
upon him ou earth, shall be confirmed in heaven." 

Thomas, otherwise called Didimus, was absent at the meeting 
of the apostles; nor did this happen without the special direc- 
tion of Providence, that the particular and extraordinary satis- 
faction which was afterwards granted him, might be an abun- 
dant and undeniable testimony of the truth of our blessed 
Saviour's resurrection to all succeeding generations, The rest 
of the apostles therefore told him, that they had seen the Lord, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



415 



and repeated to him the words he had delivered in their hear- 
ing. But Thomas replied, "This event is of such great impor- 
tance, that unless, to prevent all possibility of deception, I see 
him with my own eyes, and feel him with mine own hands, put- 
ting my fingers into the print of his nails, whereby he was fas- 
tened to the cross, and thrust my hand into his side, which the 
soldier pierced with his spear; I will not believe that he is really 
and truly risen from the dead." 

Thus have we enumerated, in the most explicit manner, the 
transactions of that day on which the great Redeemer of man- 
kind arose from the dead; a day highly to be remembered by 
the children of men, throughout all generations. A day, in 
which was fully completed and displayed the conceptions lodged 
in the breast of infinite Wisdom! even those thoughts of love 
and mercy, on which the salvation of the world depended. 
Christians have therefore the highest reason to solemnize this day 
with gladness, each returning week, by ceasing from their labor, 
and giving up themselves to prayer, pious meditations, and other 
exercises of religion. The redemption of mankind, which they 
weekly commemorate, affords matter for eternal thought; it is 
a subject impossible *to be equalled, and whose lustre neither 
length of time, nor frequent reviewing, can either tarnish or 
diminish. It resembles the sun, which we behold always the 
same glorious and luminous object; for the benefit we celebrate 
is, after so many ages, as fresh and beautiful as ever, and will 
always continue the same, flourishing in the memories of pious 
people, through the endless revolutions of eternity. Redemp- 
tion is the brightest mirror by which we contemplate the good- 
ness of the Almighty. Other gifts are only mites from the 
divine treasure; but redemption opens, I had almost said, ex- 
hausts all the stores of his grace. May it be constantly the 
favorite subject of our meditations, more delightful to our mus- 
ing minds, than applause to the ambitious ear! May it be the 
darling theme to our discourse; sweeter to our tongues than the 
dropping of the honey comb to the taste ! May it be our 
choicest comfort through all the changes of this mortal life ; 
and the reviving cordial, even in the last extremities of dissolu- 
tion itself. 

Eight days after the resurrection of our great Redeemer, the 
blessed Jesus showed himself again to his disciples, while Thomas 
was with them ; and upbraided that disciple for his unbelief ; but 
knowing that it did not, like that of the Pharisees, proceed from a. 
wicked mind, but from an honest heart, and a sincere desire of be- 
ing satisfied of the truth, he thus addressed himself to his doubting 
disciple: "Thomas," said he, "since thou wilt not be contented 
to rely on the testimony of others, but must be convinced by the 
experience of thy own senses, behold the wounds in my hands, 



416 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and doubt 
no longer of the reality of my resurrection." 

Thomas immediately obeyed the kind invitation of his dear 
Master, and being fully satisfied, according to his own desire, he 
cried out, "I am abundantly convinced; thou art, indeed, my 
Lord, the very same that was crucified; and I acknowledge 
thine Almighty power in having triumphed over death, and 
worship thee as my God." 

To which the blessed Jesus replied: "Because thou hast both 
seen and felt me, Thomas, thou hast believed that I am really 
risen from the dead. But blessed are they who without such 
evidence of the senses, shall, upon credible testimony, be willing 
to believe and embrace a doctrine which tends so greatly to the 
glory of God, and the salvation of the sons of men." 

St. John adds, that the blessed Jesus appeared, on several 
other occasions, to his disciples, after his resurrection: and by 
many clear and infallible proofs, (not mentioned by the Evan- 
gelist,) fully convinced' them that he was alive after his passion. 
But those which are mentioned, are abundantly sufficient to 
induce men to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the great 
Messiah, so often foretold by the ancient prophets; and that by 
means of that belief, they may attain everlasting life, in the 
happy regions of the heavenly Canaan. 

Our blessed Saviour having, first by the angels, and afterwards 
in person, ordered his disciples to repair to their respective 
habitations in Galilee, it is reasonable to think they would leave 
Jerusalem as soon as possible. This they accordingly did, and 
on their arrival at their respective places of abode, applied 
themselves to their usual occupations; and the apostles returned 
to their old trade of fishing, on the lake of Tiberias. Here they 
were toiling with their nets, very early in the morning, and saw 
Jesus standing on the shore, but did not then know him to be 
their Master, as it was somewhat dark, and they at a considera- 
ble distance from him. He however called to them, and asked 
if they had taken any fish; to which they answered, they had 
caught nothing. He then desired them to let down their nets 
on the right side of the boat, and they should not be disap- 
pointed. 

The disciples, imagining that he might be acquainted with the 
places proper for fishing, did as he directed them, and enclosed 
in their net such a prodigious multitude of fishes, that they were 
not able to draw it into the boat, but were forced to drag it 
after them in the water towards the shore. 

It seems they had toiled all the preceding night to no pur- 
pose ; and, therefore, such remarkable success could not fail 
of causing various conjectures among them with regard to the 
stranger on the shore, who had given them such happy advice. 



ST. THOMAS' INCREDULITY. 

[Page 416.] 




"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach 
hither thy hand, and thru t it into my side ; and be not faithless, but believing. 

" And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." — John xx. 27, 23. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



419 



Some of the apostles declared they could not imagine who he 
was; but others were persuaded that this person was no other 
than their great and beloved Master. John was fully convinced 
of his being the Lord, and accordingly told his thoughts to Simon 
Peter, who making no doubt of it, girded on his fisher's coat, 
and leaped into the sea, in order to get ashore sooner than the 
boat could be brought to land, dragging after it a net full of 
large fishes. 

When the disciples came ashore, they found a fire kindled, 
and on it a fish broiling, and near it some bread. But neither 
being sufficient for the company, Jesus bade them bring some 
of the fish they had now caught, and invited them to eat with 
him. Thus did the blessed Jesus prove again to his disciples the 
reality of his resurrection, not only by eating with them, but by 
working a miracle, like that which, at the beginning of his min- 
istry, had made such an impression upon them, as disposed them 
to be his constant followers. 

This was the third time that Jesus appeared publicly to a 
great number of his disciples in a body, besides his showing 
himself at several times to particular persons, upon special 
occasions. 

When they had eaten, Jesus reminded Peter how diligent 
and zealous he ought to be, in order to wipe off the stain of his 
denying him when he was carried before the high priest. 
"Simon, son of Jonas," said our blessed Saviour to him, "art 
thou more zealous and affectionate in thy love towards me than 
the rest of my disciples?" To which Peter answered, "Yea, 
Lord: thou knowest that I love thee." He was taught modesty 
and diffidence by his late fall: and therefore would not compare 
himself with others, but humbly appealed to his Master's omnis- 
cience, for the sincerity of his regard to him. Jesus answered, 
"Express then thy love towards me, by the care of my flock 
committed to thy charge. Feed my lambs; feed my sheep." 
Show your love to me, by publishing the great salvation I have 
accomplished; and feeding the souls of faithful believers with 
that food which never perishes, but endures for ever and ever. 

"I well know, indeed," continued the blessed Jesus, "that 
thou wilt continue my faithful shepherd, even until death. For 
the time will come, when thou who now girdest on thy fisher's 
coat voluntarily, and stretchest out thy hands to come to me, 
shalt in thine old age be girt by others, and forced to stretch out 
thy hands against thy will, in a very different manner, for the 
sake of thy constant profession of my religion." 

By these last words, Jesus signified the manner of Peter's 
death, and that he should finally suffer martyrdom, for the glory 
of God, and the testimony of the truth of the Christian religion. 

The time being now come, when the disciples were to meet 



420 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



their great Lord and Master, according to the messages he had 
sent them by the women, and in all probability appointed at 
some former appearance, not mentioned by the Evangelists, the 
brethren set out for some mountain in Galilee, perhaps that on 
which he was transfigured. Here five hundred of them were 
gathered together, expecting the joyful sight of their great Mas- 
ter, after he had triumphed over death and the grave; some of 
them not having yet seen him after his resurrection. 

They did not wait long before Jesus appeared, on which they 
were seized with rapture, their hearts overflowed with gladness, 
they approached their kind, their benevolent Master, and wor- 
shipped him. Some few, indeed, doubted; it then being agree- 
able to nature for men to be afraid to believe what they vehe- 
mently wish, lest they should indulge themselves in false joys, 
which vanish like a morning cloud. But Jesus afterwards ap- 
peared frequently to them, and gave them full satisfaction, and 
instructed them in many things relating to their preaching the 
gospel, establishing the church, and spreading it through the 
whole earth. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

Our blessed Lord instructs his Disciples in what manner they should 
conduct themselves in order to propagate the doctrine of the Gos- 
pel, — Promises to assist them in this important business. — Gives 
them his final blessing, and ascends into Heaven. — General review 
of the life and doctrines of the great Redeemer of mankind, 

A few days before the feast of Pentecost, or the " feast of 
weeks," the disciples went up to Jerusalem, where the blessed 
Jesus made his last appearance to them; and after instructing 
them in many particulars concerning the kingdom of God, and 
the manner they were to behave themselves in propagating the 
doctrine of the gospel, he put them in mind that, during his 
abode with them in Galilee, he had often told them that all 
things written in the law, the prophets, and the Psalms, concern- 
ing him, were to be exactly accomplished. At the same time, 
"he opened their understandings;" that is, he removed their pre- 
judices, by the operation of his Spirit, cleared their doubts, 
improved their memories, strenghtened their judgments, and en- 
abled them to discern the true meaning of the Scriptures. 

Having thus qualified them for receiving the truth, he again 
assured them that both Moses and the prophets had foretold that 
the Messiah was to suffer in the very manner he had suffered; 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



421 



that he was to rise from the dead on the third day, as he had 
done; and that repentance and remission of sins were to be 
preached in the Messiah's name, among all nations, beginning 
with the Jews. 

He next delivered unto them their commission to preach the 
doctrines of repentance and remission of sins, in his name, among 
all nations, and to testify unto the world the exact accomplish- 
ment, in him, of all things foretold concerning the Messiah; and 
to enable them to perform this important work, promised to be- 
stow on them the miraculous gift of the Spirit, which he called 
the promise of his Father; because the Almighty had promised 
it by his prophets. 

Having thus fortified them for the important work they were 
going to undertake, he led them on to the Mount of Olives, as 
far as Bethany; where, standing on a hill above the town, he 
told them that he was going to ascend to his Father: for which 
reason they might go courageously through all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every rational creature; that they who be- 
lieve should be admitted into his church by the rite of baptism, 
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and 
be taught, in consequence of their baptism, to obey all the pre- 
cepts he had enjoined them: that such baptized believers should 
receive the pardon of their sins, together with eternal life in the 
happy mansions of his Father's kingdom; but such as refused to 
embrace the doctrines of the Gospel should be forever excluded 
those happy regions, and have their portion in the lake that 
burneth with fire and brimstone; that while they were employed 
in this work, he would be constantly with them, to assist them 
by his Spirit, and protect them by his providence. Finally, that 
those who should, through their preaching, be induced to believe, 
should themselves work most astonishing miracles, by which the 
Gospel should be propagated with the greatest rapidity. 

When the blessed Jesus had spoken these things, he lifted up 
his hands and blessed them. And in the action of blessing them, 
he was parted from them, in the midst of the day, a shining 
cloud receiving him out of their sight; that is, this brilliant cloud 
encompassed him about, and carried him up to heaven; not sud- 
denly, but at leisure, that they might behold him departing, and 
see the proof of his ascending into heaven, as he had promised 
them. 

The cloud in which the blessed Jesus ascended was more 
bright and pure than the clearest lambent flame, being no other 
than the schechinah, or glory of the Lord; the visible symbol of 
the divine presence which had so often appeared to the patri- 
archs of old: which filled the temple at its dedication, and which, 
in its greatest splendor, could not be beheld with mortal eyes; 
for which reason it is called the light inaccessible. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



As he ascended, the flaming cloud that surrounded him marked 
his passage through the air, but gradually lost its magnitude in 
the eyes of those who stood below; till it at last vanished, 
together with their beloved Master, out of their sight. 

Thus was the great Redeemer of mankind triumphantly car- 
ried into heaven, where he now sitteth at the right hand of God 
his Father, to whom be honor, glory, and power, for ever and 
ever. Amen. 

Hossanna to the prince of light, 

That cloth'd himself in clay; 
Entered the iron gates of death, 

And tore the bars away. 

Death is no more the king of dread, 

Since Christ our Lord arose ; 
He took the tyrant's sting away, 

And spoil'd our hellish foes. 

See how the conq'ror mounts aloft, 

And to his Father flies, 
With scars of honor in his flesh, 

And triumph in his eyes. 

There our exalted Saviour reigns 

And scatters blessings down ; 
Our Jesus fills the right hand seat 

Of the celestial throne. 

In this illustrious manner did the great Redeemer of mankind 
depart, after having finished the grand work which he left the 
bosom of his Father to execute; which angels with joy described 
was to happen, and which, through all eternity to come, shall, 
at periods the most immensely distant from the time of its execu- 
tion, be looked back upon with inexpressible delight, by every 
inhabitant of heaven; for though the minute affairs of time may 
vanish altogether and be lost, when they are removed far back 
by the endless progression of duration, this object is such, that 
no distance, however great, can lessen. The kingdom of heaven 
is erected on the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God, 
the kingdom and city of the Almighty, comprehending all the 
people of God in the universe, made happy by goodness and love, 
and therefore none of them can ever forget the foundation on 
which their happiness stands established. The human beings, in 
particular, recovered by the labor of the Son of God, will view 
their deliverer, and look back on his stupendous undertaking, 
with the highest rapture, while they are feasting, without inter- 
ruption on its delicious fruits. The angels, likewise, the celestial 
inhabitants of the city of God, will contemplate it with perpetual 
pleasure, as the happy means of recovering their kindred that 
were lost, and bringing them to a joint and proper subjection to 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



423 



him who reigneth for ever, and whose favor is better than life 
itself. 

Thus have we followed our dear Redeemer through all the 
transactions of his life, and enlarged on the stupendous miracle 
of his resurrection, on which glorious event the whole Christian 
doctrine is founded. 

We shall conclude this chapter with a few observations on the 
general conduct of our blessed Redeemer, during his peregrina- 
tion on the earth. 

The human character of the blessed Jesus, as it results from 
the account given of him by the Evangelists, for they have not 
formally drawn it up, is entirely different from that of all other 
men whatsoever; for whereas they have selfish passions deeply 
rooted in their breasts, and are influenced by them in almost 
every thing they do, Jesus was so entirely free from them, that 
the most severe scrutiny cannot furnish one single action in the 
whole course of his life wherein he consulted his own interest 
only. No; he was influenced by very different motives: the 
present happiness and eternal welfare of sinners, regulated his 
conduct, and while others followed their respective occupations, 
Jesus had no other business than that of promoting the happiness 
of the sons of men. Nor did he wait till he was solicited to ex- 
tend his benevolent hand to the distressed: "he went about doing 
good," and always accounted it "more blessed to give than to 
receive;" resembling God rather than man. He went about 
doing good; benevolence was the very life of his soul: he not 
only did good to objects presented to him for relief; but he indus- 
triously sought them out, in order to extend his compassionate 
assistance. 

It is common for persons of the most exalted faculties to be 
elated with success and applause, or dejected by censure and 
disappointments: but the blessed Jesus was never elated by the 
one, or depressed by the other. He was never more courageous 
than when he met with the greatest opposition and cruel treat- 
ment; nor more humble than when the sons of men worshipped 
at his feet. 

He came into the world inspired with the grandest purpose 
that ever was formed: that of saving from eternal perdition, not 
a single nation, but the whole world; and in the execution of it 
went through the longest and heaviest train of labors that ever 
was sustained, with a constancy and resolution, on which no dis- 
advantageous impression could be made by any accident what- 
ever. Calumny, threatenings, bad success, with many other 
evils, constantly attending him, served only to quicken his endea- 
vors in this glorious enterprise, which he unweariedly pursued, 
even till he had finished it by his death. 

The generality of mankind are prone to retaliate injuries re- 

49 



424 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ceived, and all seem to take a satisfaction in complaining of the 
cruelties of those who oppress them; whereas the whole of 
Christ's labors breathed nothing but meekness, patience, and for- 
giveness, even to his bitterest enemies, and in the midst of the 
most excruciating torments. The words, "Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do," uttered by him when his ene- 
mies were nailing him to the cross, fitly express the temper 
which he maintained through the whole course of his life, even 
when assaulted by the heaviest provocations. He was destined 
to sufferings here below, in order that he might raise his people 
to honor, glory, and immortality, in the realms of bliss above; 
and therefore patiently, yea joyfully, submitted to all that the 
malice of earth and hell could inflict. He was vilified that we 
might be honored: he died, that we might live for ever and 
ever. 

To conclude: the greatest and best men have discovered the 
degeneracy and corruption of human nature, and shown them 
to have been nothing more than men: but it was otherwise with 
Jesus. He was superior to all the men that ever lived, both 
with regard to the purity of his manners, and the perfection of 
his virtues. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated 
from sinners. 

Whether we consider him as a teacher, or as a man, "he did 
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." His whole life 
was perfectly free from spot or weakness; at the same time it 
was remarkable for the greatest and most extensive exercises of 
virtue. But never to have committed the least sin in word or in 
deed; never to have uttered any sentiment that could be cen- 
sured, upon the various topics of religion and morality, which 
were the daily subjects of his discourses; and that through the 
course of a life filled with action, and led under the observation 
of many enemies, who had always access to converse with him, 
and who often came to find fault, is a pitch of perfection evi- 
dently above the reach of human nature; and consequently he 
who possessed it must have been divine. 

Such was the person who is the subject of the Evangelical 
history. If the reader, by reviewing his life, doctrine, and mira- 
cles, as they are here represented to him, united into one series, 
has a clearer idea of these things than before, or observes a 
beauty in his actions thus linked together, which, taken sepa- 
rately, do not appear so fully: if he feels himself touched by the 
character of Jesus in general, or with any of his sermons and 
actions in particular, thus simply delineated in writing, whose 
principal charms are the beauties of truth: above all, if his 
dying so generously for men strikes him with admiration, or fills 
him with joy in the prospect of that pardon which is thereby 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



425 



purchased for the world: let him seriously consider with himself, 
what improvement he ought to make of the divine goodness. 

Jesus, by his death, hath set open the gates of immortality to 
the sons of men; and by his word, spirit, and example, gra- 
ciously offers to make them meet for the glorious rewards in the 
kingdom of the heavenly Canaan, and to conduct them into the 
inheritance of the saints of light. Let us, therefore, remember, 
that being born under the dispensation of his Gospel, we have, 
from our earliest years, enjoyed the best means of securing to 
ourselves an interest in that favor of God, which is life, and that 
loving kindness which is better than life. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

Remarks on the peculiar nature of the Christian religion, the prin- 
ciples it inculcates, and its fitness to render men holy and humble 
here, and happily glorified hereafter. 

We cannot close this delightful scene of the life of our dear 
Lord and Saviour more comfortably, than by considering the 
benefits resulting from a due attendance to his doctrines to all, 
who shall, by faith, receive and embrace the same. 

Probably none have been greater enemies to the progress of 
religion than those who delineate it in a gloomy and terrifying 
form: nor_ any guilty of a more injurious calumny against the 
Gospel, than those who represent its precepts as rigorous impos- 
itions, and unnecessary restraints. 

True religion is the perfection of human nature, and the 
foundation of uniform exalted pleasure; of public order and 
private happiness. Christianity is the most excellent, and the 
most useful institution, having the "promise of the life that now 
is, and of that which is to come." It is the voice of reason; it 
is also the language of Scripture, "the ways of wisdom are ways 
of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;" and our blessed 
Saviour assures us, that his precepts are easy, and the burden of 
his religion light. 

The Christain religion is a rational service, a worship "in 
spirit and truth," a worship worthy of the majesty of the 
Almighty to receive, and of the nature of man to pay. It com- 
prehends all we ought to believe, and all we ought to practice; 
its positive rites are few, in plain and easy significancy, and 
manifestly adapted to establish a sense of our obligation to God 
and Christ. 

The Gospel places religion, not in abstruse speculation and 



426 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



metaphysical subtilties; not in outward show, and tedious cere- 
mony; not in superstitious austerities and enthusiastic visions, 
hut in purity of heart, and holiness of life. The sum of our duty, 
according to our great Master himself, consists in the love of God, 
and of our neighbor; according to St. Paul, in denying ungodli- 
ness and worldly lusts, and in living soberly, righteously, and 
godly, in this present evil world; according to St. James, in 
visiting the fatherless and widows in affliction, and in keeping 
ourselves unspotted from the world. This is the constant strain 
and tenor of the Gospel. This it inculcates most earnestly, and 
on this it lays the greatest stress. 

But is the Christian system only a republication of the law 
of nature, or merely a refined system of morality? No, certainly; 
it is a great deal more. It is an act of grace, a stupendous plan 
of Providence, designed for the recovery of mankind from a state 
of degradation and ruin, to the favor of the Almighty, and to 
the hopes of a happy immortality through a Mediator. 

Under this dispensation, true religion consists in a "repentance 
towards God," and "in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," as the 
person appointed by the supreme authority of heaven and earth, 
to reconcile apostate man to his offended Creator; as a sacrifice 
for sin; our vital head and governing Lord. This is religion, 
as we are Christians. And what hardships, what exaction is 
there in all this? Surely, none. Nay, the practice of religion 
is much easier than the servitude of sin. 

Our rational powers, all will readily agree, are dreadfully im- 
paired, and the soul weakened, by sin. The animal passions 
are strong and corrupt, and oppose the dictates of the Spirit of 
God: objects of sense make powerful impressions on the mind. 
We are, in every situation, surrounded with many snares and 
temptations. In such a disordered state of things, we cannot 
please God, till created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. 
We must be born again; born from above. 

The God of all grace has planted in the human breast a quick 
sense of good and evil; a faculty which strongly dictates right 
and wrong: and though by the strength of appetite and warmth 
of passion, men are often hurried into immoral practices, yet in 
the beginning, especially when there has been the advantage of 
a good education, it is usually with reluctance and opposition of 
mind. What inward struggles precede! what bitter pangs at- 
tend their sinful excesses! w r hat guilty blushes and uneasy fears! 
what frightful prospects and pale reviews! "Terrors are upon 
them, and a fire not blown consumeth them." To make a mock 
at sin, and to commit iniquity without remorse, is an attainment 
that requires length of time, and much painful labor; more labor 
than is requisite to attain that habitual goodness which is the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



427 



glory of the man, the ornament of the Christian, and the chief 
of his happiness. 

The soul can no more be reconciled to acts of wickedness and 
injustice, than the body to excess, but by suffering many bitter 
pains, and cruel attacks. 

The mouth of conscience, may indeed, be stopped for a while, 
by false principles: its secret whispers may be drowned by the 
noise of company, and stifled by entertainments of sense; but 
this principle of conscience is so deeply rooted in human na- 
ture, and, at the same time, her voice is so clear, and strong, 
that the sinner's arts will be unable to lull her into a lasting 
security. 

When the hour of calamity arrives, when sickness seizeth, and 
death approacheth the sinner, conscience then constrains him to 
listen to her accusations, and will not suffer the temples of his 
head to take any rest. "There is no peace to the wicked;" the 
foundations of peace are subverted, they are at utter enmity 
with their reason, with their conscience, and with their God. 

Not so is the case of true religion. For when religion, pure 
and genuine, forms the temper, and governs the life, conscience 
applauds, and peace takes her residence in the breast. The 
soul is in its proper state. There is order and regularity both 
in the faculties and actions. Conscious of its own integrity, and 
secure of the divine approbation, the soul enjoys a calmness not 
to be described. But why do I call this happy frame calmness 
only? It is far more than mere calmness. The air may be 
calm, and the day overcast with thick mists and dark clouds. 
The pious and virtuous mind resembles a serene day, enlighten- 
ed and enlivened with the brightest rays of the sun. Though 
all without may be clouds and darkness, there is light in the 
heart of a pious man. "He is satisfied from himself, and is filled 
with peace and joy in believing." In the concluding scene, the 
awful moment of dissolution, all is peaceful and serene. The 
immortal part quits its tenement of clay, with the well grounded 
hopes of ascending to happiness and glory. 

Nor does the Gospel enjoin any duty but what is fit and rea- 
sonable. It calls upon all its professors to practice reverence, 
submission, and gratitude to God; justice, truth, and universal 
benevolence to men; and to maintain the government of our 
own minds. And what has any one to object against this? From 
the least to the greatest commandment of our dear Redeemer, 
there is not one which impartial reason can find fault with. 
"His law is perfect: his precepts are true and righteous alto- 
gether." Not even those excepted which require "us to love 
our enemies, to deny ourselves," and to "take up our cross." To 
forgive an injury is more generous and manly than to revenge 
it; to control a licentious appetite, than to indulge it: to suffer 



428 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



poverty, reproach, and even death itself, in the sacred cause of 
truth and integrity, is much wiser and better, than, by base com- 
pliances, to make "shipwreck of faith and a good conscience." 

Thus in a storm at sea, or a conflagration on the land, a man 
with pleasure abandons his lumber to secure his jewels. Piety 
and virtue are the wisest and most reasonable things in the 
world: — Vice and wickedness the most irrational and absurd. 

The all-wise Author of our being hath so framed our natures, 
and placed us in such relations, that there is nothing vicious, but 
what is injurious; nothing virtuous, but what is advantageous to 
our present interest, both with respect to body and mind. Meek- 
ness and humility, patience and universal charity, and grace, 
give a joy " unknown to transgressors." 

The divine virtues of truth and equity are the only bands of 
friendship, the only supports of society. Temperance and sobri- 
ety are the best preservatives of health and strength; but sin and 
debauchery impair the body, consume the substance, reduce to 
poverty, and form the direct path to an immature and untimely 
death. Now this is the chief excellency of all laws; and what 
will always render their burden pleasant and delightful is, that 
they enjoin nothing unbecoming or injurious. 

Besides, to render our duty easy, we have the example, as well 
as the commands of the blessed Jesus. The masters of morality 
among the heathens gave excellent rules for the regulation of 
men's manners; but they wanted either the honesty, or the cour- 
age, to try their own arguments upon themselves. It was a 
strong presumption that the yoke of the Scribes and Pharisees 
was grievous, when they laid "heavy burdens upon men's shoul- 
ders," which they themselves refused to touch with one of their 
fingers. Not thus our great lawgiver, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 
His behavior was, in all respects, conformable to his doctrine. 
His devotion towards God, how sublime and ardent! Benevo- 
lence towards men, how great and diffusive! He was in his life 
an exact pattern of innocence; for he "did no sin, neither was 
guile found in his mouth." In the Son of God, incarnate, is ex- 
hibited the brightest, the fairest resemblance of the Father, that 
earth or heaven ever beheld, an example peculiarly persuasive, 
calculated to inspire resolution, and to animate us to use our 
utmost endeavors to imitate the divine pattern, the example of 
"the author and finisher of our faith," of "•him who loved us, 
and gave himself for us." Our profession and character, as 
Christains, obliges us to make this example the model of our 
lives. Every motive of decency, gratitude, and interest, con- 
strain us to tread the paths he trod before us. 

We should also remember that our burden is easy; because 
God, who "knoweth whereof we are made, who'considereth that 
we are but dust," is ever ready to assist us. The heathen sages 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



429 



themselves had some notion of this assistance, though guided only 
by the glimmering lamp of reason. But what they looked upon 
as probable, the Gospel clearly and strongly asserts. We there 
hear the apostle exhorting, "Let us come boldly to the throne 
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in 
time of need." We there hear the blessed Jesus himself argu- 
ing in this convincing manner: "If ye, being evil, know how to 
give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" 

I would not here be understood to mean, that the agency of 
the spirit is irresistible, and lays a necessitating bias on all the 
faculties and affections. Were this the case, precepts and pro- 
hibitions, promises and threatenings, would signify nothing; and 
duty and obligation would be words without a meaning. The 
spirit assisteth in a manner agreeably to the frame of human na- 
ture; not controling the free use of reason, but by assisting the 
understanding, influencing the will, and moderating the affec- 
tions. But though we may not be able to explain the mode of 
his operations, the Scriptures warrant us to assert, that, when 
men are renewed and prepared for heaven, it is " through sanc- 
tification of the spirit," and "belief of the truth." How enli- 
vening the thought! how encouraging the motive! We are not 
left to struggle alone with the difficulties which attend the prac- 
tice of virtue, in the present imperfect state. The merciful 
Father of our spirits is ever near to help our infirmities, to en- 
lighten the understanding, to strengthen good resolutions, and, 
in concurrence with our own endeavors, to make us conquerors 
over all opposition. Faithful is he to his promises, and will not 
suffer the sincere and well-disposed to be tempted above what 
they are able to bear. What can be desired more than this? 
To promote the happiness of his people, every thing is done that 
is requisite, his grace is all-sufficient, his spirit is able to conduct 
us through this vale of tears, to never-fading bliss. 

We should also remember, that the great doctrine of the Gos- 
pel, concerning the propitious mercy of God to all penitents, 
through Christ Jesus, greatly contributes to the consolation of 
Christians. Let it be granted that the hope of pardon is essen- 
tial to the religion of fallen creatures, and one of its first princi- 
ples, yet, considering the doubts and suspicions which are apt to 
arise in a mind conscious of guilt, it is undoubtedly a great and 
inestimable favor, to be relieved in this respect, by a messenger 
from Omnipotence himself. This is our happiness. We are not 
left tc depend upon consequential reasonings, which the bulk of 
mankind are little used to; but we are assured, that upon our 
true repentance, we shall, "through the mediation of Christ," 
receive the "full remission of past sins," and be restored to the 
same state and favor with our Maker, as if we had never trans- 



430 



LIFE OF CHBiST. 



gressed his laws. Here the Gospel triumphs. With these assu- 
rances it abounds. Upon this head the declarations of our blessed 
Saviour and his apostles are so express and full, that every one 
who believes them, and knows himself to be a true penitent, 
must banish every doubt and fear, and rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able, "Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest." Matt. xi. 28. "All manner of sin and 
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." Matt. xii. 31. "Be it 
known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that though this 
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him 
all that believe are justified from all things, from which we could 
not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts, xiii, 38, 39. "The 
blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin." What grace and favor 
is this! Who can dwell upon the transporting theme too long! 
Now our way is plain before us, and the burden we are to bear 
is made easy. Our sins are pardonable, if repented of and for- 
saken. 

Consider this, all ye who have never yet regarded religion, 
but pursued a course of vice and sensuality all your lives long. 
Though your conduct has been base, to the last degree, your 
case is not desperate. Far from it. The God whom you' have 
so highly offended commiserates your errors, is ever ready to 
extend his pardoning mercy to his most degenerate creatures, 
upon their faith and repentance, and "is in Christ Jesus recon- 
ciling the world to himself, not imputing unto penitent sinners 
their trespasses. Let the wicked, therefore, forsake his way, and 
the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the 
Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he 
will abundantly pardon." Isaiah lv. 7. 

Another particular, which renders the Christian religion de- 
lightful, is, its leading us to the perfect, eternal life of heaven. 
It cannot be denied, but that we may draw from the light of na- 
ture strong presumptions of a future state. The present existence 
does not look like an entire scene, but rather like the infancy of 
human nature, which is capable of arriving at a much higher de- 
gree of maturity; but whatever solid foundation the doctrine of 
a future state may have, in nature and reason, certain it is, 
through the habitual neglect of reflection, and the force of irreg- 
ular passions, this doctrine was, before the coming of our blessed 
Saviour, very much disfigured, and in a great measure lost, 
among the sons of men. 

In the heathen world, a future state of rewards and punish- 
ments, was a matter of mere speculation and uncertainty, some- 
times hoped for, sometimes doubted of, and sometimes absolutely 
denied. The law of Moses, though of divine original, is chiefly 
enforced by promises of temporal blessing: and, even in the 
writings of the prophets, a future immortality is very sparingly 



LIFE OF CHRIST, 



431 



mentioned, and obscurely represented: but the doctrine of our 
Saviour hath " brought life and immortality to light." In the 
Gospel we have a distinct account of another world, attended 
with many engaging circumstances, about which the decisions 
of reason were dark and confused. We have the testimony of 
the Author of our religion, who was raised from the dead, and 
who afterwards, in the presence of his disciples, ascended into 
heaven. In the New Testament it is expressly declared, that 
good men, " when absent from the body, are present with the 
Lord." Here we are assured of the resurrection of the body in 
a glorious form, clothed with immortal vigor, suited to the active 
nature of the animating spirit, and assisting its most enlarged 
operations and incessant progress towards perfection. Here we 
are assured, that "the righteous shall go into life everlasting;" 
that they shall enter into the kingdom of the heavenly Canaan, 
where no ignorance shall cloud the understanding, no vice dis- 
turb the will. In these regions of perfection, nothing but love 
shall possess the soul; nothing but gratitude employ the tongue: 
there the righteous shall be united to an innumerable company 
of angels, and to the general assembly and church of the first 
born; there they shall see their exalted Redeemer, at the right 
hand of Omnipotence, and sit down with him on his throne; 
there they shall be admitted into the immediate presence of the 
supreme Fountain of life and happiness, and beholding his face, 
be changed into the same image, from glory to glory. — Here 
language — here imagination fails me! It requires the genius, 
the knowledge, and the pen of an angel, to paint the happiness, 
the blissful scene of the New Jerusalem, which human eyes can- 
not behold, till this mortal body shall be purified from its corrup- 
tion, and dressed in the robes of immortality: "eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart to con- 
ceive, the joys which God hath prepared for them that love 
him." 

What is the heaven of the heathens, compared with the 
heaven of the Chrstians? The hope, the prospect of this, is suf- 
ficient to reconcile us to all the difficulties that may attend our 
progress, sweeten all our labors, alleviate every grief, and silence 
every murmur. 

But why, says the libertine, in the gaiety of his heart, should 
there be any difficulties or restraints at all? God hath made 
nothing in vain. The appetites he hath planted in the human 
breast are to be gratified. To deny or restrain them, is igno- 
minious bondage; but to give full scope to every desire and 
passion of the heart, without check or control, is true manly 
freedom. 

In opposition to this loose and careless way of reasoning, let 
it be considered, that the liberty of a rational creature doth not 

50 



432 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



consist in an entire exemption from all control, but in following 
the dictates of reason, as the govering principle, and in keeping 
the various passions in due subordination. To follow the regu- 
lar motion of those affections which the wise Creator hath im- 
planted within us, is our duty: but as our natural desires, in this 
state of trial, are often irregular, we are bound to restrain their 
excesses, and not to indulge them, but in a strict subserviency 
to the integrity and peace of our minds, and to the order and 
happiness of human society established in the world. Those 
who allow the supreme command to be usurped by sensual and 
brutal appetites, may "promise themselves liberties," but are 
truly and absolutely the "servants of corruption." To be vi- 
cious, is to be enslaved. We behold with pity those miserable 
objects that are chained in the galleys, or confined in dark pri- 
sons and loathsome dungeons; but much more abject and vile is 
the slavery of the sinner! No slavery of the body is equal to 
the bondage of the mind: no chains press so closely, or gall so 
cruelly, as the fetters of sin, which corrode the very substance 
of the soul, and fret every faculty. 

It must, indeed, be confessed, that there are some profligates, 
so hardened by custom as to be past all feeling; and because 
insensible of their bondage, boast of this insensibility as a mark 
of their native freedom and happiness. Vain men ! they might 
extol, with equal propriety, the peculiar happiness of an apo- 
plexy, or the profound tranquility of a lethargy. 

Thus have we endeavored to place, in a plain and conspicu- 
ous light, some of the peculiar excellencies of the Christian reli- 
gion; and from hence, many useful reflections will naturally 
arise in the mind of every attentive reader. It is the religion 
of Jesus that hath removed idolatry and superstition, and brought 
immortality to light, when concealed under the veil of darkness 
almost impenetrable. This hath set the great truths of religion 
in a clear and conspicuous point of view, and proposed new and 
powerful motives to influence our minds, and to determine our 
conduct. Nothing is enjoined to be believed, but what is wor- 
thy of God; nothing to be practiced, but what is friendly to 
man. All the doctrines of the Gospel are rational and consist- 
ent: all its precepts are truly wise, just, and good. The Gospel 
contains nothing grievous to an ingenuous mind: it debars us 
from nothing, but doing harm to ourselves, or to our fellow crea- 
tures; and permits us to range any where, but in the paths of 
danger and destruction. It only requires us to act up to its ex- 
cellent commands; and to prefer, to the vanishing pleasure of 
sin, the smiles of a reconciled God, and "an eternal weight of 
glory." And is this a rigorous exaction, a heavy burden not to 
be endured? How can sinful mortals harbor so unworthy a 
thought? 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



433 



Surely no man, who is a real friend to the cause of virtue and 
to the interest of mankind, can ever be an enemy to Christianity, 
if he truly understands it, and seriously reflects on its wise and 
usefui tendency. It conducteth us to our journey's end, by the 
plainest and securest path; where the "steps are not straight- 
ened, and where he that runneth stumbleth not." Let us, who 
live under this last and most gracious dispensation of God to 
mankind, "count all things but loss, for the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord;" and not suffer ourselves, 
by the slight cavils of unbelievers, to be " moved away from the 
hope of the Gospel." Let us demonstrate that we believe the 
superior excellency of the Christian dispensation, by conforming 
to its precepts. Let us show that we are Christians in deed, 
and in truth; not by endless disputes about trifles, and the trans- 
ports of a blind zeal, but by abounding in those "fruits of right- 
eousness, which are, through Christ, to the praise and glory of 
God." 

From what has been said, we may clearly perceive how 
groundless all those prejudices are, which some conceive against 
religion, as if it was a peevish, morose scheme, burdensome to 
human nature, and inconsistent with the true enjoyment of life. 
Such sentiments are too apt to prevail in the heat of youth, when 
the spirits are brisk and lively, and the passions warm and im- 
petuous; but it is wholly a mistake, and a mistake of the most 
dangerous tendency. The truth is, there is no pleasure like that 
of a good conscience: no real peace but what results from a 
sense of the divine favor. This ennobles the mind, and can 
alone support it under all the various and unequal scenes of the 
present state of trial. This lays a sure foundation of an easy, 
comfortable life, of a serene, peaceful death, and of eternal joy 
and happiness hereafter; whereas, vice is ruinous to all our most 
valuable interests ; spoils the native beauty, and subverts the 
order of the soul; renders us the scorn of man, the rejected of 
God, and, without timely repentance, will rob us of a happy 
eternity. Religion is the health, the liberty, and the happi- 
ness of the soul; sin is the disease, the servitude, and destruc- 
tion of it. 

If this be not sufficient to convince you, let me lead you into 
the chamber of an habitual rioter, the lewd debauchee, worn 
out in the cause of iniquity, "his bones full of the sins of his 
youth," that from his own mouth, as he lies on his expiring bed, 
you may learn that "the way of transgression is hard;" and that 
however sweet sin may be in the comrnjssion, " it strikes like a 
serpent, and bites like an adder." 

I am going, reader, to represent to you the last moments of a 
person of high birth and spirit; of great parts and strong pas- 



434 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



sions; every way accomplished, but unhappily attached to those 
paths which lead to vice and destruction. 

His unkind treatment was the death of a most amiable wife: 
and his monstrous extravagance, in effect, disinherited his only 
child. And surely the death-bed of a profligate is next in horror 
to that abyss to which it leads ! It has the most of hell that is 
visible on earth, and he that hath seen it has more than faith to 
confirm him in his creed. I see it now, (says a worthy divine, 
from whom I shall borrow this relation,) for who can forget it? 
x\re there in it no flames and furies? — You are ignorant then of 
what scared imagination can figure ! what a guilty heart can 
feel! How dismal it is! The two great enemies of soul and 
body, sickness and sin, sink and confound his friends; silence 
and darkness are the dismal scene. Sickness excludes the light 
of heaven, and sin its blessed hope. Oh, double darkness, more 
than Egyptian! acutely to be felt! 

The sad evening before the death of that noble youth, whose 
last hours suggested these thoughts, I was with him. No one 
else was there but his physician, and an intimate acquaint- 
ance, whom he loved, and whom he had ruined. At my com- 
ing, he said, 

" You and the physician are come too late. I have neither 
life nor hope. You both aim at miracles. You would raise the 
dead." 

" Heaven," I said, "was merciful." 

"Or I could not," answered he, "have been thus guilty. What 
has it not done to bless and to save me? I have been too strong 
for Omnipotence. I plucked down ruin." 

1 said "The blessed Redeemer — " 

"Hold, hold," said he, "you wound me! This is the rock on 
which I have split! I denied his name." 

Refusing to hear any thing from me, or take any thing from 
the physician, he lay silent, as far as sudden darts of pain would 
permit, till the clock struck. Then he cried out with vehe- 
mence, — "Oh, time! time! It is fit thou shouldst thus strike thy 
murderer to the heart. How art thou fled, forever! — A month? 
Oh! for a single week! I ask not for years, though an age were 
too little for the much I have to do." 

On my saying to him, "We could not do too much; that hea- 
ven was a blessed place!" 

"So much the worse," replied he, "'tis lost! 'tis lost! Heaven 
is to me the severest part of hell !" 

Soon after, I proposed prayer. To which he answered, — 

"Pray, you that can; I never prayed. I cannot pray. My 
conscience is too much wounded. I have deserted my be- 
nevolent Maker, and my soul is enveloped in the deepest hor- 
rors." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



435 



His friend, being much touched, even to tears, at this, (for 
who could forbear? I could not,) he with a most affectionate 
look, said, 

"Keep these tears for thyself, I have undone thee. Dost thou 
weep for me? That is cruel. What can pain me more?" 

Here his friend, too much affected, would have left him. 

" No," said he, 44 stay. You still may hope ; therefore, hear me. 
How madly have I talked ! How madly hast thou listened and 
believed ! But look on my present state, as a full answer to 
thee and to myself. This body is all weakness and pain; but 
my soul, as if stung up by torment to greater strength and spirit, 
is full powerful to reason; full mighty to suffer. And that which 
thus triumphs within the joys of mortality, is doubtless immortal. 
And as for a Deity, nothing less than an Almighty could inflict 
the pains I feel." 

I was about to congratulate this passive, involuntary con- 
fession, in his asserting the two prime articles of his creed, 
extorted by the rack of nature; when he thus very passionately 
added, 

"No, no! let me speak on. I have not long to speak. My 
much injured friend! My soul, as my body, lies in ruins; in 
scattered fragments of broken thought; remorse for the past, 
throws my thoughts on the future. Worse dread of the future 
strikes it back on the past. I turn, and turn, and find no ray. 
Didst thou feel half the mountain that is on me, thou wouldst 
struggle with the martyr for his stake, and bless heaven for the 
flame; that is not an everlasting flame: that is not an unquench- 
able fire." 

How were we struck! yet, soon after, still more. With what 
an eye of distraction, what a face of despair, he cried out, " My 
principles have poisoned my friend: my extravagance has beg- 
gared my boy: my unkindness has murdered my wife! — And 
is there another hell? Oh! thou blasphemed, yet most indul- 
gent Lord God ! Hell itself is a refuge, if it hides me from thy 
frown." 

Soon after, his understanding failed; his terrified imagination 
uttered horrors not to be repeated, or ever forgotten; and be- 
fore the sun, (which I hope has seen few like him,) arose, this 
gay, young, noble, ingenious, accomplished, and most wretched 
mortal, expired. 

It must, indeed, be owned, it sometimes happens, that men 
who have lived very wicked lives, have gone out of the world, 
as they have lived in it, defying conscience, and deriding a future 
judgment as an idle fiction; but these instances are very rare, 
and only prove that there are monsters in the moral as well as 
the natural world. 



436 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



It will perhaps be said, that the sons of vice and riot have 
pleasure in sensual indulgences. Allowed; but it is altogether 
of the lower kind, empty, fleeting, and transient: "like the crack- 
ling of thorns under a pot, so is the mirth of the wicked." It 
makes a noise and a blaze for the present, but soon vanishes 
away into smoke and vapor. 

On the other hand, the pleasure of religion is solid and last- 
ing; and will attend us through all, even the last stages of life. 
When we have passed the levity of youth, and have lost our 
relish for the gay entertainments of sense; when old age steals 
upon us, and stoops us towards the grave, this will cleave fast to 
us, and give us relief. It will be so far from terminating at death, 
that it then commences perfect, and continually improves, with 
new additions. 

Clad in this immortal robe, we need not fear the awful sum- 
mons of the king of terrors, nor regret our retiring into the 
chambers of the dust. Our immortal part will wing its way to 
the arms of its Omnipotent Redeemer, and find rest in the hea- 
venly mansions of the Almighty. And though our earthly part, 
this tabernacle of clay, returns to its original dust, and is dis- 
solved, our joy, our consolation, our confidence is, that "we have 
a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens." 



THE 

LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. PETER. 



CHAPTER I. 

Account of the Life of St. Peter, prior to his call to the Apostle- 
ship of the blessed Jesus. 

St. Peter was bora at Bethsaida, a city of Galilee, situate 
on the banks of the lake of Gennesareth, called also the sea of 
Galilee, from its being situated in that country, and the lake of 
Tiberias, from that city being built on its banks. The particu- 
lar time of this great apostle's birth cannot be known; the 
Evangelist and other writers among the primitive Christians, 
having been silent with regard to this particular. It is, however, 
pretty certain, that he was a least ten years older than his Mas- 
ter; the circumstances of his being married, and in a settled 
course of life, when he first became a follower of the great Mes- 
siah, and that authority and respect the gravity of his person 
procured him among the rest of the apostles, sufficiently declare 
this conjecture to be just. 

As he was a descendant of Abraham, he was circumcised ac- 
cording to the rites of the Mosaic law, and called by his parents 
Simon or Simeon, a name common at that time among the Jews. 
But after his becoming a disciple of the blessed Jesus, the addi- 
tional title of Cephas was conferred upon him by his Master, to 
denote the firmness of his faith; the word Cephas, in the Syriac, 
the common language of the Jews at that time, signifying a 
stone or rock; and thence he is called, in Greek, Petros. and by 
us Peter, which implies the same thing. 

With regard to the parents of St. Peter, the Evangelists have 
also beenfelent, except in telling us that his father's name was 
Jonah, who was highly honored by our blessed Saviour, who 
chose two of his sons, Andrew and Peter to be his apostles, 
437 



438 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



and preachers of the glad tidings of salvation to the children of 
men. 

St. Peter, in his youth, was brought up to the trade of fishing 
on the lake of Bethsaida, famous for different kinds offish, which 
excelled all others in the fineness of their taste. 

Here he followed the trade of fishing, but afterwards removed 
to Capernaum, where he settled; for we find he had a house 
there when our Saviour began his public ministry, and there he 
paid tribute. Nicephorus tells us that Helen, the mother of 
Constantine, erected a beautiful church over the ruins of St. 
Peter's house, in honor of that apostle. 

The business of Peter was both mean and toilsome; it exposed 
him to all the injuries of the weather, the tempestuousness of 
the sea, and the darkness and horror of the night, and all to 
acquire a mean livelihood for himself and family. But meanness 
of worldly degree is no obstacle to the favor of God: nay, if we 
review the state of Christianity, from its rise to the present period, 
we shall find that its friends and votaries consist rather of per- 
sons of humble and lowly stations of life, than of the great, the 
dignified, and the opuient. 

And herein are manifested the wise and admirable methods 
used by Divine Providence, in making choice of such mean and 
unlikely instruments in planting and propagating the Christian 
religion in the world. Men who were destitute of the advan- 
tages of education, and brought up to the meanest employments, 
were chosen to confound the wise, and overturn the learning of 
the great. Such were the persons whom the Almighty sent to 
propagate the religion of his Son; to silence the wise, the Scribe 
and the disputer of this world, and to make foolish the wisdom 
of the earth. For though the Jews required a sign, and the 
Greeks sought after wisdom; though the preaching of a crucified 
Saviour made no impression on the former, and wisdom became 
of little avail to the latter; yet by this preaching God was 
pleased to save them that believed, and in the event made it 
appear, that the wisdom of God passeth all understanding — That 
so the honor of all may redound to himself, "that no flesh should 
glory in his presence, but that he that glorieth should glory in 
the Lord." 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



439 



CHAPTER II. 

The manner by which Peter arrived to the knowledge of the blessed 
Jesus, and of his call to the discipleship. 

Sacred history hath not ascertained of what sect the apostle 
was. We know indeed, that his brother Andrew was a follower 
of John the Baptist, that preacher of repentance ; and it is very 
unlikely that he, who was ready to carry his brother the early 
tidings of the Messiah, that the " sun of righteousness " was al- 
ready risen in those parts, should not be equally solicitous to 
bring him under the discipline and influence of John the Baptist, 
the day-star which appeared to usher in the appearance of the 
Son of God. Besides, Peter's great readiness and curiosity at 
the first news of Christ's appearing, to come to him and con- 
verse with him, shows, that his expectation had been awakened, 
and some glimmering rays of hope conveyed to him by the 
preaching and ministry of John, who was " the voice of one 
crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his 
paths straight." 

He became acquainted with the immaculate Lamb of God, 
in the following manner : The blessed Jesus having spent thirty 
years in the solitude of a private life, had lately been baptized 
by John in Jordan, and there owned by the solemn attestation 
of heaven to be the Son of God ; whereupon he was immediate- 
ly hurried into the wilderness, and there for forty days main- 
tained a personal contest with the devil. But having conquered 
this great enemy of mankind, he returned to " the place beyond 
Jordan," where John was baptizing his proselytes, and endeav- 
oring to answer the Jews, who had sent a deputation to him to 
inquire concerning this new Messiah that appeared among them. 
To satisfy these curious inquirers of Israel, John faithfully rela- 
ted every thing he knew concerning him, gave him the greatest 
character, and soon after pointed him out to his disciples ; upon 
which two of them presently followed the great Redeemer of 
mankind, one of which was Andrew, Simon's brother. 

Nor did he conceal the joyful discovery he had made ; for 
early in the morning he hastened to acquaint his brother Si- 
mon that he had found the Messiah. It is not enough to be 
happy alone : grace is a communicative principle, that, like the 
circles in the water, delights to multiply itself, and to diffuse its 
influences all around, especially on those whom nature has pla- 
ced nearest to us. I have, said he, with rapture to his brother, 
found that eminent person so long and signally foretold by the 



440 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



prophets, and whom all the devout and pious among the sons of 
Jacob so earnestly expected. 

Simon who was one of those who waited for the redemption 
of Israel, ravished with the joyful news, and impatient of delay, 
presently followed his brother to the place; and on his arrival 
our blessed Saviour immediately gave him a proof of his divin- 
ity ; saluting him at first sight by his name, and telling him both 
who he was, his name and kindred, and what title should soon 
be conferred upon him. 

In order to avoid the prodigious throng of people, our great 
Redeemer often retired to some solitary place, to indulge the pri- 
vacies of contemplation. In one of these retreats, on the banks 
of the sea of Galilee, the multitude found him out, and ran to 
him from the city. Our Saviour, therefore, to avoid the crowd, 
stepped into a fishing boat which lay near shore, and belonged 
to Simon Peter, who, together with his companions, were on 
shore, drying their nets, after an unsuccessful night spent in toil 
and labor. The blessed Jesus, who might have commanded, 
was pleased to entreat Peter, who now returned to his boat, to 
thrust off a little from the land, that he might instruct the peo- 
ple, who were gathering in prodigious crowds on the borders 
of the lake. 

Peter gladly complied with the request of his Master, who 
delivered his heavenly doctrine to the people on the shore. As 
soon as he had ended his discourse, he resolved to seal it by a 
miracle, that the people might be persuaded he was "a teacher 
come from God." Accordingly he ordered Simon to row farther 
from the shore, and cast his net into the sea. To which Simon 
answered, that they had labored the preceding night, and had 
taken nothing ; and, if they could not then succeed, there were 
little hopes of it now, as the day was far less proper for fishing 
than the night. But as his Master was pleased to command, 
he would obey ; and accordingly he let down his net, when, to 
the astonishment both of him and of his companions, so great 
a multitude of fishes were enclosed, that they were obliged to 
call their partners to their assistance. Amazed at this miracu- 
lous drought of fishes, Simon Peter, in an ecstacy of admiration, 
blended with awe and humility, fell prostrate at his Master's 
feet, acknowledging himself a vile and sinful person, and think- 
ing himself unw r orthy of being admitted into the presence of a 
person so immediately sent from God. But the compassionate 
Son of the Most High kindly removed his fears ; telling him 
that this miracle was wrought to confirm his faith, and indicate 
to him that the Almighty had appointed a more noble employ- 
ment for him, that of saving the souls of the children of men. 
From this time Peter and his companions became the insep- 



441 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



arable and constant disciples of the great Messiah, living under 
the rules of his discipline and institutions. 



CHAPTER III. 

Peculiar transactions of this Apostle, from the time of his being 
chosen, to his blessed Master's entering the City of Jerusalem* 

The blessed Jesus, having entered upon his important mis- 
sion, thought proper to select some peculiar persons from among 
his followers to be constant witnesses of his miracles and doc- 
trine, and who, after his departure, might be entrusted with the 
care of building his church, and planting that religion in the 
world, for which he himself left the mansions of heaven, and 
put on the veil of mortality. In order to this, he withdrew 
privately, in the evening, to a solitary mountain, where he spent 
the night in solemn addresses to his Almighty Father, for ren- 
dering the great work he was going to undertake prosperous and 
successful. 

The next day, early in the morning, the disciples came to him, 
out of whom he made choice of twelve to be his apostles, and 
the attendants on his person. 

These he afterwards invested with the power of working mir- 
acles, and sent them into different parts of Judea, in order 
to carry on with more rapidity the great work which he himself 
had so happily begun. 

We have no farther account of St. Peter in particular, till the 
night after our Saviours miraculously feeding the multitude in 
the wilderness. Jesus had ordered his disciples to take ship, and 
pass over to the other side, while he sent the multitude away. 
But a violent storm arising, they were in great danger of their 
lives, when their Master came unto them, walking on the surface 
of the boisterous billows, with the same ease as if it had been 
dry ground. 

At his approach the disciples were greatly terrified, suppos- 
ing they had seen a spirit. But their compassionate Master 
soon dispelled their fears, by telling them it was he himself, and 
therefore they had no reason to be terrified. 

Peter, who was always remarkable for bold resolutions, de- 
sired his Master to give him leave to come to him on the water; 
and on obtaining permission, he left the ship, and walked on 
the sea to meet his Saviour. But when he heard the deep roar 
around him, and the waves increase, he began to be afraid; 



442 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

and as his faith declined, his body sunk in the water; so that 
in the greatest agony he called for assistance to him who was 
able to save. Nor was his cry in vain; the compassionate 
Redeemer of mankind stretched out his hand, and again placed 
him on the surface of the water, with this gentle reproof, 44 O 
thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?*' And no sooner 
was the blessed Jesus and his disciple entered into the ship, than 
the winds ceased, the waves subsided, and the ship was at the 
land whither they were going. 

A miracle of this kind could not fail of astonishing the disci- 
ples, and convincing them of the divinity of his mission: accord- 
ingly they drew near and worshipped him, with this confession, 
44 Of a truth thou art the Son of God." 

The inhabitants of Judea, who beheld with astonishment the 
miracles wrought by the blessed Jesus, had formed many conjec- 
tures concerning him. Our great Redeemer was not ignorant 
of this: but being willing to hear what account his disciples 
would give of the various opinions of the people, asked 
them what the world said concerning him? To which they 
replied, that some took him for John the Baptist, risen from the 
dead; some thought him to be Elias, and others Jeremiah, or 
one of the old prophets. He asked them what they themselves 
thought of him: to which Peter, in the name of the rest, an- 
swered, "Thou art Christ the Son of the living God," anointed 
and set apart by the Most High, to be the great King, Priest, 
and Prophet of Israel. 

This full and comprehensive declaration of Peter satisfied the 
inquiry of our blessed Saviour, who answered, 44 Blessed art 
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood hath not revealed 
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." 

The disciples had no idea that their Master was to suffer 
death for the sins of the world; on the contrary, they considered 
him as immortal, having embibed the opinion of the Scribes and 
Pharisees, 44 that Christ abideth forever:" so that when the 
blessed Jesus told them of the sufferings he must undergo at 
Jerusalem, what affronts and indignities he must suffer, and be 
at last put to death with all the acts of torture and disgrace, 
by a sentence of the Jewish Sanhedrim, Peter, who could not 
endure the thought of his Master's suffering even the least pun- 
ishment, much less those cruelties he had mentioned, and at 
last death itself, interrupted him very unseasonably, and said, 
44 Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee." He 
considered these sufferings as inconsistent with the character of 
the great Messiah, whom he expected would restore the splen- 
dor of the throne of David his father, and reduce all the king- 
doms of the earth to his obedience. But our blessed Saviour 
who came down from heaven, to give his life a ransom for the 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



443 



sins of the world, and who valued the redemption of mankind 
infinitely more than his own ease and safety, highly resented 
this speech of St. Peter, and accordingly returned this sharp 
reproof: "Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offence unto 
me." Thy pernicious counsels in seeking to oppose the d__ign 
for which I purposely left the courts of heaven, are offensive; 
and thou "savorest not the things that be of God, but those that 
be of men." 

Some time after, the great Redeemer of the souls of men, 
being to receive a specimen of his future glorification, took with 
him three of his most intimate apostles, Peter and the two sons 
of Zebedee, and went up into a very high mountain, and while 
they were employed in earnest addresses to the Almighty, he 
was transfigured before them, darting such lustre from his face, 
as exceeded the meridian rays of the sun in brightness; and 
such beams of light issued from his garments, as exceeded the 
light of the clearest day; an evident and sensible representa- 
tion of that state, when the "Just shall walk in white robes, and 
shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." During this 
heavenly scene, the great prophets, Moses and Elias appeared 
in all the brightness and majesty of a glorified state, familiarly 
conversing with him, and discoursing of the death and suffer- 
ings he was shortly to undergo, and his ascension to the heav- 
enly regions of bliss and happiness. 

In the mean time Peter and the two apostles were fallen 
asleep; but on their awaking were strangely surprised to see the 
Lord surrounded with so much glory, and those two great per- 
sons conversing with him. They, however, remained silent till 
those visitants from the courts of heaven were going to depart, 
when Peter, in rapture and ecstacy of mind, addressed himself 
to his Master, declared their infinite pleasure and delight in 
being favored with this glorious spectacle; and desired his 
leave to erect three tabernacles, one for him, one for Moses, 
and one for Eiias. But while he was speaking, a bright cloud 
overshadowed these two great prophets, and a voice came from 
it, uttering these remarkable words, "This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." On which the apos- 
tles were seized with the utmost consternation, and fell upon 
their faces to the ground; but Jesus touching them, bid them 
dismiss their fears, and look up with confidence; they immedi- 
ately obeyed, but saw their Master only. 

After this heavenly scene our blessed Lord traveled through 
Galilee, and at his return to Capernaum, the tax-gatherers came 
to Peter and asked him, whether his Master was not obliged to 
pay tribute? When our blessed Saviour was informed of this 
demand, rather than give offence, he wrought a miracle to 
pay it. Our great Redeemer was now going, for the last time, 



444 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



to Jerusalem; and he ordered two of his disciples, probably 
Peter and John, to fetch him an ass, that he might enter into 
the city on it, as had been foretold. The disciples obeyed 
their Master, and brought the ass to Jesus, who being mounted 
therran, entered the city amidst the hosannas of a numerous 
multitude, with palm-branches in their hands, proclaiming at 
once both the majesty of a orince, and the triumph of a Sav- 
iour. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Life of St. Peter, from the time of the celebration of the last Pass- 
over to the Crucifiction of the great Redeemer. 

The blessed Jesus proceeded from Jerusalem to Bethany, 
from whence he sent two of his disciples, Peter and John, to 
make preparations for his celebrating the passover. 

Every thing being ready, our blessed Saviour and his apos- 
tles entered the house, and sat down to the table. But their great 
Master, who often taught them by example as well as precept, 
arose from his seat, laid aside his upper garment, took the towel, 
and pouring water into a basin, began to wash his disciples' 
feet, to teach them humility and charity, by his own example. 
But on his coming to Peter, he would by no means admit his 
Master to perform so mean and condescending an office. What! 
the Son of God stoop to wash the feet of a sinful mortal! A 
thought which shocked the apostle, who strenuously declared, 
" Thou shalt never wash my feet." But the blessed Jesus to]d 
him, that if he washed him not, he could have no part with 
him; intimating, that this action was mystical, and signified the 
remission of sins, and the purifying virtue of the Spirit of the 
Most High, to be poured upon all true Christians. This an- 
swer sufficiently removed the scruples of Peter, who cried out, 
" Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." 
Wash me in every part, rather than let me lose my portion in 
thee. 

The blessed Jesus, having set this pattern of humility, began 
to reflect on his approaching sufferings, and on the person who 
should betray him into the hands of wicked and cruel men, tell- 
ing them, that not a stranger, or an enemy, but one of his 
friends, one of his apostles, and even one of them who then sat 
at the table would betray him. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



445 



This declaration exceedingly affected them all in general, 
and Peter in particular, who made signs to St. John, to ask him 
particularly who it was. Jesus complied with this request, and 
gave them to understand that it was Judas Iscariot. 

Our great Redeemer now began the institution of his supper, 
that great and solemn institution, which he resolved to leave 
behind him, to be constantly celebrated in his church, as a 
standing monument of his love in dying for mankind; telling 
them at the same time that he himself was now going to leave 
them, and that "whither he went, they could not come." Pe- 
ter, not well understanding what he meant, asked him whither 
he was going. To which our great Redeemer replied, that he 
was going to that place whither he could not now, but should 
hereafter follow him: intimating the martyrdom he was to suf- 
fer for his Master's religion. Peter answered, that he was 
ready now to follow him, even if it required him to lay down 
his life. This confident presumption was not at all agreeable 
to the blessed Jesus, who told him he had promised great things, 
but would be so far from performing them, that before 44 the 
cock crew" he would deny him thrice. 

Supper being now ended, they sung an hymn, and departed 
to the Mount of Olives; where Jesus again put them in mind 
how greatly the things he was going to suffer would offend 
them. To which Peter replied, that " though all men should 
be offended because of him, yet he himself would never be 
offended." How far will an indiscreet zeal and affection trans- 
port even a good man into vanity and presumption! Peter 
questions the fidelity of others, but never doubts his own: 
though his Lord had just before reproved him for his self-suffi- 
ciency. This confidence of Peter inspired the rest of the apos- 
tles with courage: so that they declared their constant and un- 
shaken adherence to their Master. 

They now repaired to the garden of Gethsemane; and leav- 
ing the rest of the apostles near the entrance, our blessed Sav- 
iour, taking with him Peter, James, and John, retired into the 
most solitary part of the garden, to enter on the preparatory 
scene of the great tragedy that was now approaching. 

Here the blessed Jesus labored under the bitterest agony that 
ever human nature suffered, during which he prayed with the 
utmost fervency to his Father, " offering up prayers and suppli- 
cations with strong crying and tears; and his sweat was as it 
were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." 

While our blessed Redeemer was thus interceding with the 
Almighty, his three disciples were fallen asleep, though he had 
made three several visits to them, and calling to Peter, asked 
him if he could not watch one hour with him. Advising them 
all to watch and pray, that they might not enter into tempta- 



446 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



tion, adding, "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
weak." 

What incomparable sweetness! what generous candor did 
the Redeemer of mankind display on this occasion! he passed 
the most charitable censure upon an action which malice and 
ill nature would have painted in colors as black as the shades 
of darkness. 

The disciples were drowned in a profound security, and 
were buried in a deep sleep, and though often awaked and in- 
formed of the approaching tragedy, they little regarded the 
admonitions, as if nothing but ease and softness engaged their 
thoughts: an action which seemed to imply the most amazing 
ingratitude, and the highest disregard for their Lord and 
Master. 

But he who was compassion itself, would not impute it to 
their want of affection, or disregard for his safety: he consid- 
ered it merely as the effect of their infirmities, and made an 
excuse for them when they could make none for themselves; 
teaching us the useful lesson of putting the most favorable con- 
struction on the actions of others: and to imitate the bee and 
not the spider, by sucking honey, instead of poison, from the 
various transactions of human life. 

While he was discoursing with them, a band of soldiers, from 
the chief priests and elders, preceded by the traitor Judas, to 
conduct and direct them, rushed into the garden, and seized the 
great high priest of our profession. Peter, whose ungoverna- 
ble zeal would admit of no restraint, drew his sword, and, 
without the least order from his Master, struck at one of the 
persons who seemed to be remarkably busy in binding Jesus, 
and cut off his right ear. This wild and unwarrantable zeal 
was very offensive to his Master, who rebuked Peter, and en- 
treated the patience of the soldiers while he miraculously healed 
the wound. 

But now the fidelity of the apostles, which they had urged 
with so much confidence, was put to the trial. They saw their 
Master in the hands of a rude and inconsiderate band of men: 
and therefore should have exerted their power to release him, 
or at least have been the companions of his sufferings, and 
endeavored by every kind, endearing action, to have lessened 
his grief. But alas! instead of assisting or comforting their 
great Master, they forsook him and fled. 

The soldiers after binding Jesus, led him away, and delivered 
him to the chief priests and elders, who carried him from one 
tribunal to another, first to Annas, and then to Caiaphas, where 
the Jewish Sanhedrim were assembled, in order to try and con- 
demn him. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



447 



In the mean time, Peter, who had followed the other disci- 
ples in their flight, recovered his spirits, and being encouraged 
by his companion St. John, returned to seek his Master. See- 
ing him leading to the high priest's hall, he followed at a dis- 
tance to know the event: but on his coming to the door, was 
refused admittance, till one of the disciples who was acquainted 
there, came out, and prevailed upon the servant who kept the 
door, to let him in. Peter, being admitted, repaired to the fire, 
burning in the middle of the hall, round which the officers and 
servants were standing; where being observed by the maid ser- 
vant, who let him in, she charged him with being one of Christ's 
disciples: but Peter publicly denied the charge, declaring that 
he did not know him, and presently withdrew into the porch, 
where being secluded from the people, the reflection of his mind 
awakened his conscience into a quick sense of his duty, and the 
promise he had a few hours before made to his Master. But 
alas! human nature, when left to itself, is remarkably frail and 
inconstant. This Peter sufficiently experienced; for while he 
continued in the porch, another maid met him, and charged him 
with being one of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, which Pe- 
ter firmly denied, and, the better to gain belief, ratified it with 
an oath. 

About an hour after this, the servant of the high priest, he 
whose ear Peter had cut off, charged him with being a disciple 
of Christ, and that he himself had seen him in the garden with 
him: adding that his very speech sufficiently proved that he was 
a Galilean. Peter, however, still denied the fact; and, to his 
sin, ratified it not only by an oath, but a solemn curse and exe- 
cration, that " he was not the person," and that " he knew not 
the man." But no sooner had he uttered this denial, (which 
was the third time) than the " cock crew;" at which his Master 
turned about, and earnestly looked upon him in a manner that 
pierced him to the heart, and brought to his remembrance what 
his Saviour had more than once foretold, namely, that he would 
basely and shamefully deny him. Peter was now no longer 
able to contain his sorrow: he flew from the palace of the high 
priest, and " wept bitterly," passionately bewailing his folly, and 
the aggravations of his sin. 

The fall of St. Peter should convince us of the miserable 
frailty, even of the best of men, and effectually subdue those 
vain confidences which are apt to rise in our hearts, from our 
own supposed strength and virtue. For, as this great disciple 
fell in so scandalous a manner, who shall hereafter dare to de- 
pend upon the highest degree of knowledge, when one so wise, 
so perfectly satisfied of the truth of the Christian doctrine , was, 
after the fullest convictions of his own conscience, so weak and 
frail, as to deny and abjure his Lord who instructed and bought 

52 



448 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



him even at the price of his own blood? Who shall presume 
upon his best resolutions, when he who declared so firm a pur- 
pose of adhering to Jesus, did, within a few hours peremptorily 
and solemnly disown that very person, for whose sake he was 
lately ready and disposed to lay down his life. 

We ought, therefore, on all occasions, to pray for and rely 
on the Divine assistance, which alone can enable us to stand 
in a day of trial. There is, indeed, no reason to doubt that St. 
Peter at that time spoke the very sense of his soul; that he 
had an honest and sincere heart, was steadfastly determined, and 
as he thought able to perform, what, with so much piety and 
affection, he intended and professed. But his misfortune was, 
that he did not consider the infirmities of human nature, prom- 
ising, in the warmth of his zeal, more than he was able to per- 
form. He relied on his own integrity, thinking good resolutions 
a sufficient defence against the most violent temptations. But 
when the assault was made, and danger with her terrifying as- 
pect, appeared, the event sufficiently proved, that how willing 
soever the spirit might be, yet the flesh was exceedingly frail 
and weak. 

We have in St. Peter an example for our instruction. The 
opinion of his own strength proved his ruin. So dangerous 
and fatal is it to lean on our own understandings; to be wise, 
good, and safe, in our own conceit; when all our sufficiency, all 
our safety, is of God. 



CHAPTER V. 

An account of what befell this Apostle from the Resurrection of his 
blessed Master, to his Ascension into Heaven, 

It is certain, from various circumstances, that Peter, after 
the crucifixion of his Lord and Master, stayed at Jerusalem, or 
at least in the neighborhood; for when Mary Magdalene returned 
from the sepulchre to inform the disciples that the stone was 
rolled away from the door, and the body not to be found, Peter 
and John set out immediately towards the garden. John, who 
was the younger, arrived at the sepulchre first, looked into it, 
but did not enter, either out of fear or reverence to our Saviour. 
Peter came soon after, and resolutely went into the sepulchre, 
where he found the linen clothes lying together in one place, 
and the napkin that was about his head wrapped together in 
another, a sufficient indication that the body was not stolen 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



449 



away; for had that heen the case, so much care and order would 
not have been observed in disposing of the linen clothes. 

But Peter did not wait long in suspense, with regard to his 
great Lord and Master; for the same day Jesus appeared to 
him; and as he was the first of the disciples who had made a 
signal confession of the divinity of the Messiah's mission, so it 
was reasonable he should first see him, after his resurrection, 
and at the same time to convince him that the crime he had 
been guilty of, in denying him, was pardoned, and that he was 
come, like the good Samaritan, to pour oil into the wounded 
conscience. 

Soon after the apostles prepared to obey the command of their 
great Master, of retiring into Galilee; and we find that Peter, 
Nathaniel, the two sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples, 
returned to their old trade of fishing in the lake. 

One morning early, as they were laboring at their employ- 
ment, having spent the whole night to no purpose, they saw on 
the shore a grave person, who called to them, and asked them 
if they had any meat? To which they answered, No. Cast., 
then, replied he, the net on the right side of the ship, and ye 
shall find. They followed his directions, and caught a prodi- 
gious number of large fish. Astonished at such remarkable suc- 
cess, the disciples looked upon one another for some time, till 
St. John told Peter, that the person on the shore was, doubtless, 
their great Lord and Master, whom the winds, the sea, and the 
inhabitants of the watery region, were ready to obey. 

Peter no sooner heard the beloved disciple declare his opin- 
ion concerning the stranger, than his zeal took fire, and, not- 
withstanding the coldness of the season, he girt on his fisher's 
coat, threw himself into the sea, and swam to shore; his im- 
patience to be with his dear Lord and Master not suffering 
him to stay the few minutes necessary to bring the ship to 
land. 

As soon as the disciples came on shore, they found a fire kin- 
dled, and fish laid upon it, either immediately created by the 
power of their divine Master, or which came ashore of its own 
accord, and offered itself to his hand. But notwithstanding 
there were fish already on the fire, he ordered them to bring 
those they had now caught, and dress them for their repast, he 
himself eating with them; both to give them an instance of mu- 
tual love and friendship, and also to assure them of the truth of 
his human nature, since he was risen from the dead. 

When the repast was ended, our blessed Saviour addressed 
himself particularly to Peter, urging him to the utmost diligence 
in the care of souls: and because he knew that nothing but a 
sincere love to himself could support him under the trouble 
and dangers of so laborious and difficult an employment, he 



450 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



inquired of him, whether he loved him more than the rest of the 
apostles: mildly reproving him for his over-confident resolution. 
Peter, whom fatal experience had taught humility, modestly 
answered, that none knew so well as himself the integrity of his 
affections. Thou knowest the hearts of all men, nothing is hid 
from thee, and therefore thou knowest that I love thee. The 
question was three several times repeated by our blessed Saviour, 
and as oftentimes answered by the apostle; it being but just, 
that he, who by a threefold denial had given so much reason to 
question his affection, should now by a threefold confession, 
give more than common assurance of his sincere love to his 
Master; and to each of these confessions our great Redeemer 
added this signal trial of his affection, " Feed my sheep." In- 
struct and teach them with the utmost care, and the utmost ten- 
derness. 

The blessed Jesus having thus engaged Peter to a cheerful 
compliance with the dangers that might attend the discharge of 
his office, particularly intimated to him the fate that would attend 
him; telling him, that when he was young, he girt himself, lived 
at his pleasure, and went wherever his fancy directed him; but 
when he should reach the term of old age, he should stretch forth 
his hands, and another should gird and bind him, and lead him 
whither he had no desire to go, intimating as the Evangelist tells 
us, u by what death he should glorify God." 

Peter was well pleased to drink the bitter cup and make his 
confession as public as his denial, provided all would be sufficient 
to atone for his former sin. And seeing John following, he 
asked his great Master, what should be his fate, and whether he, 
who had been the object of his Master's love in his life-time, 
should not have as honorable a death as he that had denied him? 
To which Jesus replied, It doth not concern thee to know how 
I shall dispose of events, with regard to him: he shall see the 
destruction of the Jewish nation, and then go down to the 
chambers of the dust in peace. 

Not long after, our blessed Saviour appeared to his disciples at 
Jerusalem, to take his last farewell of them who had attended him 
during his public ministry among the sons of men. He led them 
out as far as Bethany, a small village on the Mount of Olives, where 
he briefly told them that they were the persons he had chosen to 
be the witnesses, both of his death and resurrection ; a testimony 
which they should publish in every part of the world. In order 
to which, he would, after his ascension into heaven, pour out his 
spirit upon them, in an extraordinary manner, that they might 
be the better enabled to struggle with that violent rage and fury, 
with which the doctrine of the gospel would be opposed by men 
and devils. Adding, that in the mean time, they should return 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



451 



to Jerusalem, and there wait till those miraculous powers were 
given them from on high. 

Having finished this discourse, he laid hands upon them, and 
gave them his solemn benediction; during which he was taken 
from them, and received up into the regions of the heavenly 
Canaan. The apostles, who' beheld their Master visibly ascend 
into heaven, were filled with a greater sense of his glory than 
they had ever been while he conversed with them familiarly on 
earth. And having performed their solemn adoration to him, 
they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, there to wait for the 
accomplishment of their great Master's promise. How sudden a 
change was now wrought in the minds of the apostles! They 
who were lately overwhelmed with sorrow, at the very mention 
of their Lord's departure from them, beheld him now with joy 
and triumph; they were fully satisfied of his glorious advance- 
ment to the right hand of Omnipotence, and of that peculiar care 
and providence which they were sure he would exercise over 
them, in pursuance of those great trusts he had committed to 
their care. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Transactions of Peter, from the Ascension of his blessed Master, to 
the dispersion of the church at Jerusalem, 

The apostles, though deprived of the personal presence of 
their dear Lord and Master, were indefatigable in fulfilling the 
commission they had received from him. The first object that 
engaged their attention, after their return to Jerusalem, was to 
fill up the vacancy in their number, lately made by the unhappy 
fall and apostacy of Judas. In order to this, they called 
together the church, and entered into "an upper room," when 
Peter, as president of the assembly, proposed to them the choice 
of a new apostle. 

He put them in mind that Judas, one of the disciples of their 
great and beloved Master, being betrayed by his covetous and 
insatiable temper, had lately fallen from the honor of his place 
and ministry. That this was no more than what the prophet 
had long since foretold should come to pass, and that the care of 
the church, which had been committed to him, should devolve 
upon another; that therefore it was highly necessary that some 
person who had been familiarly conversant with the blessed 
Jesus, from first to last, and consequently, a competent witness 



452 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



both of his doctrine and miracles, his death, resurrection, and 
ascension, should be substituted in his room. 

After filling up the vacancy in the apostolic number, they 
spent their time in prayer and meditation, till the feast of Pen- 
tecost; when the promise of their great Master in sending the 
Holy Ghost was fulfilled. The christian assembly were met as 
usual to perform the public services of their worship, when sud- 
denly a sound, like that of a mighty wind, rushed in upon them; 
representing the powerful efficacy of that divine spirit which 
was now to be communicated to them. After which there 
appeared small flames of fire, which, in the shape of cloven 
tongues, descended and sat upon the head of each of them, to 
denote that their enjoyment of this gift should be constant and 
perpetual; and not like the prophets of old, who were inspired 
only at some particular times and seasons. Upon this they were 
all immediately filled with the Holy Ghost, which, in an instant, 
enabled them to speak fluently several languages they had never 
learned, and probably never heard. 

The report of so sudden and strange an action, was soon 
spread through every part of Jerusalem, which at that time was 
full of Jewish proselytes, " devout men of every nation under 
heaven, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, the dwellers in Mesopo- 
tamia and Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and 
Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Lybia and Cyrene," from 
Rome, from Crete, and from Arabia. These no sooner heard 
of this miraculous effusion of the Holy Spirit, than they flocked 
in prodigious numbers to the christian assembly, where they 
were amazed to hear these Galileans speaking to them in their 
own native languages, so various and so very different from one 
another. And it could not fail of exceedingly increasing the 
wonder, to reflect on the meanness of the speakers, who were 
neither assisted by genius, polished by education, or improved 
by use and custom. The disciples were destitute of all these 
assistances; their parts were mean, their education trifling, and 
their experience in speaking before great assemblies, trifling. 
Yet now these persons spoke boldly, and with the greatest pro- 
priety, in various languages. Nor were their discourses filled 
with idle stories, or the follies of a luxuriant fancy. No, they 
expatiated on the great and admirable works of Omnipotence, 
and the mysteries of the Gospel, which human apprehension 
could never discover. 

This surprising transaction had different effects on the minds 
of the people: some attributing it to the effect of a miracle, and 
others to the power and strength of " new wine." Upon which 
the apostles all stood up, and Peter in the name of the rest, un- 
dertook to confute this injurious calumny. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



453 



The effect of his discourse was equally wonderful and surpri- 
sing; for great numbers of those, who before ridiculed the reli- 
gion of Jesus, now acknowledged him for their Saviour, and 
flew to him for refuge from the impending storm: and St. Luke 
tells us, that there were that day added to the church no less 
than three thousand souls, who were all baptized and received 
into the flock of the great Shepherd of Israel, the bishop of our 
souls. A quick and plentiful harvest indeed ! " This was the 
Lord's doings, and it is marvelous in our eyes." 

Soon after this wonderful conversion, Peter and John, going 
up to the temple about three in the afternoon, near the conclu- 
sion of one of the solemn hours of prayer, saw a poor impotent 
cripple, near forty years of age, who had been lame from his 
birth, lying at the "beautiful gate of the temple," and asking 
alms of those who entered the sacred edifice. This miserable 
object moved their compassion; and Peter beholding him with 
attention, said, The riches of this world, the silver and gold so 
highly coveted by the sons of men, are not in my power to 
bestow; but I possess the power of restoring life and health, and 
am ready to assist thee. 

Then taking the man by the hand, he commanded him in the 
name of "Jesus of Nazareth, to rise up and walk." Immedi- 
ately the nerves and sinews were strengthened, and the several 
parts of the diseased members performed their natural functions. 
Upon which the man accompanied them into the temple, walk- 
ing, exulting, and praising God. 

So strange and extraordinary a cure rilled the minds of the 
people with admiration, and their curiosity drew them round 
the apostle, to view the man who had performed it. Peter, 
seeing the multitude gathering round them, took the opportunity 
of speaking to them in the following manner: "Men and 
brethren, this remarkable cure should not excite your admira- 
tion of us, as if we had performed it by our own power. It 
was wrought in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, our crucified 
Master, by the power of that very Christ, that holy and just 
person, whom you yourselves denied, and delivered to Pilate, 
nay, and preferred a murderer before him, when the governor 
was desirous of letting him go. But though you have put him 
to death, yet we are witnesses that He hath raised him again 
from the dead, and that he is ascended into heaven, where he 
will remain till the great and tremendous day of general restitu- 
tion." 

While Peter was speaking to the people in one part of the 
temple, John was, in all probability, doing the same in the 
other; and the success plainly indicated how powerful the 
preaching of the apostles was; five thousand persons embra- 



454 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



cing the doctrines of the Gospel, and acknowledging the cruci- 
fied Jesus for their Lord and Saviour. 

Such amazing success could not fail of exciting the attention 
and envy of the rulers of Israel. Accordingly, the priests and 
Sadducees repaired to the Roman magistrate, and intimated to 
him, that, in all probability, this concourse of people would 
prove the cause of a tumult and insurrection. Upon this infor- 
mation, the captain of the temple seized on the apostles, and 
cast them into prison. 

The next day they were carried before the Jewish Sanhedrim; 
and being asked by what power and authority they had done 
this, Peter boldly answered, " Be it known unto you, and to 
all the descendants of Jacob, that this miracle was wrought 
wholly in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye yourselves 
have crucified and slain, and whom the Almighty hath raised 
again from the dead. This is the stone which your builders 
refused, and which is become the head of the corner. Nor is 
there any other way, by which you, or any of the sons of men 
can be saved, but by this crucified Saviour." 

The boldness of the apostle was admired by all, even by the 
court of the Sanhedrim. And it should be remembered, that 
these very judges were the persons who had so lately condem- 
ned the blessed Jesus himself, and had no other way of coloring 
their proceedings, than by a second act of cruelty; that the 
apostles did not charge them with the crime of crucifying the 
Son of God in secret, but in the open court of Judicature, and 
in the hearing of all the people. 

The labors of the apostles were crowned with abundant suc- 
cess, and it seems that such was the aversion of the inveterate 
Jews to those who became converts to the faith of Christ, that 
they were deprived of business, in their respective callings; for 
we find that the professors of the religion of the holy Jesus 
sold their effects, and brought the money to the apostles, that 
they might deposit it in one common treasury, and from thence 
supply the several exigencies of the church. 

But hypocrisy was not unknown among the professors of re- 
ligion even in these primitive times. Ananias, and his wife 
Sapphira, having embraced the doctrines of the Gospel, pre- 
tended to follow the free and generous spirit of these times by 
consecrating and devoting their estate to the honor of God, and 
the necessities of the church. Accordingly they sold their pos- 
sessions, and brought part of the money, and laid it at the 
apostles' feet; hoping to deceive them, though guided by the 
spirit of Omnipotence. But Peter, at his first coming in, asked 
Ananias, how he could suffer Satan to fill his heart with 
such enormous wickedness, as to think " to deceive the Holy 
Ghost ?" That before it was sold, it was wholly in his own 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



455 



power, and afterwards the money was entirely at his own dis- 
posal; so that his action was capable of no other interpretation, 
than that he had not only abused an injured man, but mocked 
the Almighty himself, who he must know was privy to his most 
secret thoughts. 

The apostle had no sooner finished, than Ananias, to the great 
terror of all that were present, fell down dead, by a stroke from 
heaven. 

Not long after, his wife came in, whom Peter reproved in 
the same manner he had done her husband, adding, that she 
should immediately end her life in the same awful manner: 
upon which she was smitten by the hand of Omnipotence, and 
fell down dead; sharing with her husband in the punishment, 
as she had before in the heinous crime. This remarkable in- 
stance of severity filled all the converts with fear and trembling, 
and prevented, in a great measure, that hypocrisy and dissim- 
ulation, by which others might flatter themselves to deceive the 
church. 

But such instances of severity were very extraordinary: the 
power of the apostles was generally exerted in works of mercy 
and beneficence towards the sons and daughters of affliction. 
They cured all kinds of diseases, and cast out devils; so that 
they brought the sick into the streets, and laid them upon beds 
and couches, that the shadow at least of Peter, as he passed by, 
might cover some of them; well knowing a single touch or word, 
from either of the apostles, was sufficient to remove the most 
inveterate diseases. 



CHAPTER VII. 

- 

Concluding scenes of St. Peter's Life* 

The Christian doctrine had been propagated hitherto without 
much violence or opposition, in Jerusalem, but now a storm com- 
menced with the death of the protomartyr Stephen, nor did it- 
end but with the dispersion of the disciples, by which means the 
glad tidings of the Gospel, which had till now been confined to 
Judea, was preached to the Gentile world, and an ancient pro- 
phecy fulfilled, which says, " Out of Sion shall go forth the lawj 
and the word of the law from Jerusalem." Thus does the Al- 
mighty bring good out of evil, and cause the malicious intentions 
of the wicked to redound to his praise. 

53 



456 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



The storm, though violent, being at length blown over, the 
church enjoyed a time of calmness and security; during which, 
St. Peter went to visit the churches lately planted in those parts, 
by the disciples whom the persecution had dispersed. And at 
his arrival at Lydda, he miraculously healed iEneas, who had 
been afflicted with the palsy, and confined to his bed eight 
years; but on Peter's bidding him arise in the name of Jesus, he 
was immediately restored to perfect health. Nor was the suc- 
cess of his miracle confined to iEneas and his family; the fame 
of it was blazed through all the neighboring country, and many 
believed in the doctrine of the Son of God. It was even known 
at Joppa, a sea-port town about six miles from Lydda, and the 
T brethren immediately sent for Peter, on the following melan- 
choly occasion: Tabitha, whose Greek name was Dorcas, a wo- 
man venerable for her piety and extensive charity, was lately 
dead, to the great loss of mankind, who loved genuine benevo- 
lence, especially the poor and afflicted, who were supported by 
her charity. 

At Peter's arrival, he found her dressed for funeral solemnity, 
and surrounded by mournful widows, who showed the coats and 
garments wherewith she had clothed them, the monuments of 
her liberality. But Peter put them all out, and kneeling down, 
prayed with the utmost fervency; then turning to the body, he 
commanded her to arise, and taking her by the hand, presented 
her in perfect health to her friends and others, who were assem- 
bled to pay their last duties to so good a woman. This miracle 
confirmed those who had newly embraced the doctrine of Jesus, 
and converted many more to the faith. After which he staid a 
considerable time at Joppa, lodging in the house of one Simon, 
a tanner. 

Peter, after having finished his visitation to the new planted 
churches, returned to Jerusalem, and was indefatigable in in- 
structing the converts in the religion of Jesus, and preaching the 
glad tidings of salvation to the descendants of Jacob. But he 
did not long continue in this pleasing course; Herod Agrippa, 
in order to ingratiate himself into the favor of the Jews, put 
the apostle James to death, and finding the action was highly 
r acceptable to that stiff-necked people, he resolved to extend his 
cruelty to Peter, and accordingly cast him into prison. But the 
churches were incessant in their prayers to God for his safety; 
and what have mortals to fear, when guarded by the hand of 
Omnipotence? Herod was persuaded he should soon accomplish 
his intention, and sacrifice Peter to the insatiable cruelty of the 
Jews. 

But the night before this intended execution, a messenger from 
the court of heaven visited the gloomy horrors of the dungeon, 
where he found Peter asleep between his keepers. The angel 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



457 



raised him up, took off his chains, and ordered him to gird on 
his garments, and follow him. Peter obeyed, and having passed 
through the first and second watch, they came to the iron gate 
leading to the city, which opened to them of its own accord. 
The angel also accompanied him through one of the streets, and 
then departed from him; on which Peter came to himself, and 
perceived that it was no vision, but that his great and beloved 
Master had really sent a messenger from above, and released 
him from prison. He, therefore, repaired to the house of Mary, 
where the church was assembled, and offering up their prayers 
to the throne of grace for his safety. On his knocking at the & 
door, a maid who came to let him in, knowing his voice, ran 
back to tell them that Peter was at the door; which they at first 
considered as the effect of fancy; but the damsel continuing to 
affirm that it was really true, they concluded it was his angel, or 
some messenger sent from the court of heaven. But, on opening 
the door they were convinced of their mistake, finding that it 
was really Peter himself, who briefly told them how he was de- 
livered; and desiring them to inform his brethren of his being set 
at liberty, retired to another place. 

In the morning the officers came from Herod to the prison, 
with orders to bring Peter out to the people, who were gathered 
together to behold his execution. But when they came to the 
prison, the keepers informed them that the apostle had made his 
escape ; which so exasperated Herod, that he commanded those who 
were entrusted with the care of the prisoner, to be put to death. 

As we have now related the principle transactions of this apos- 
tle, that are founded on Scripture authority, we shall have re- 
course to ancient historians for the residue of his life. 

St. Peter had preached the Gospel in various parts of the 
world, enlarging the kingdom of his great Master, and spread- 
ing the glad tidings of salvation among the inhabitants of vari- 
ous countries; and among the rest those of Rome, then the mis- 
tress of the world. In that capital he is said to have continued 
several years, till the emperor Claudius, taking advantage of 
some seditious tumults raised by the Jews, published an edict 
whereby they were banished from Rome, and among the rest St. 
Peter, who returned to Jerusalem, and was present at the synod 
already mentioned. But how long he continued in the capital of 
Judea is uncertain; for we have no account of his transactions 
for many years. This, however, is certain, that he was not 
idle in the service of his great Master; and Eusebius tells us, 
from Metaphrastus, that he visited several of the western parts, 
and particularly the island of Great Britain; where he contin- 
ued several years, spreading the glad tidings of salvation in 
these remote parts, and converting the several nations to the 
Christian faith. 



458 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Towards the latter end of the reign of Nero, when Peter 
was in Rome, orders were given by that emperor for appre- 
hending him, together with his companion, Paul. 

St. Ambrose tells us, that when the people perceived the 
danger to which St. Peter was now exposed, they prayed him 
to quit Rome, and repair for a while to some secure retreat, 
that his life might be preserved for the benefit of the church. 
Peter, with great reluctance, yielded to their entreaties, and 
made his escape by night; but as he passed the gate, he was 
met by a person in the form of his great and beloved Master, 
and on his asking him whither he was going, answered, " To 
Rome, to be crucified a second time:" which Peter taking 
for a reproof of his cowardice, returned again into the city, 
and was soon after apprehended, and cast, together with St. 
Paul, into the Mamertime prison. Here they were confined 
eight or nine months; but spent their time in the exercise of 
religion, especially in preaching to the prisoners, and those 
who resorted to them. And during this confinement, it is 
generally thought, St. Peter wrote the second epistle to the 
dispersed Jews, wherein he endeavors to confirm them in the 
belief and practice of Christianity, and to fortify them against 
those poisonous and pernicious principles and actions which 
even then began to break in upon the Christian church. 

Nero at last returning from Achaia, entered Rome in triumph; 
and soon after his arrival, resolved that the apostles should fall 
as victims and sacrifices to his cruelties and revenge. While 
the fatal stroke was daily expected, the Christians in Rome 
were continually offering up their prayers to heaven to protect 
those two holy persons. But the Almighty was now willing to 
put an end to their sorrows; and after sealing the truth they had 
preached with their own blood, to receive them into the regions 
of eternal bliss and happiness, and exchange their crowns of 
martyrdom for crowns of glory. Accordingly they were both 
condemned by the cruel emperor of Rome: and St. Peter hav- 
ing taken his farewell of the brethren, especially of St. Paul, 
was taken from the prison and led to the top of the Vatican 
mount, near the Tiber, where he was sentenced to surrender up 
his life on the cross. 

At his coming to the place of execution, he begged the favor 
of the officers, that he might not be crucified in the common 
manner, but with his head downward; affirming that he was un- 
worthy to suffer in the same posture in which his Lord had suf- 
fered before him. This request was accordingly complied with; 
and the great apostle St. Peter surrendered up his soul into the 
hands of his great and beneficent Master, who came down from 
heaven to ransom mankind from destruction, and open for them 
the gates of the heavenly Canaan. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 459 

His body, being taken down from the cross, is said to have 
been embalmed by Mercellimus, the presbyter, after the manner 
of the Jews, and then buried in the Vatican, near the Appian 
way, two miles from Rome. 



ST. PAUL. 



CHAPTER I. 

Account of this Apostle, from his Birth till his Conversion to the 
Christian Faith* 

This great apostle of the Gentiles, was a descendant from the 
ancient stock of Abraham. He belonged to the tribe of Benja- 
min, the youngest son of Jacob. Tarsus the place of his nativity, 
was the metropolis of Cilicia, and situated about three hundred 
miles distant from Jerusalem; it was exceedingly rich and popu- 
lous, and a Roman municipium, or free corporation, invested 
with the privileges of Rome by the two first emperors, as a re- 
ward for the citizens' firm adherence to the Caesars in the rebel- 
lion of Crassus. St. Paul was therefore born a Roman citizen, 
and he often pleads this privilege on his trials. 

It was common for the inhabitants of Tarsus to send their 
children into other cities for learning and improvement; espe- 
cially to Jerusalem, where they were so numerous, that they had 
a synagogue of their own, called the synagogue of the Cilicians. 
To this capital our apostle was also sent, and brought up at the 
school of that eminent rabbi, Gamaliel, in the most exact knowl- 
edge of the law of Moses. Nor did he fail to profit by the in- 
structions of that great master; for he so diligently conformed 
himself to precepts, that, without boasting, he asserts of himself, 
that touching the righteousness of the law he was blameless, and 
defied even his enemies to allege any thing to the contrary, even 
in his youth. He joined himself to the sect of the Pharisees, the 
most strict order of the Jewish religion, but, at the same time, 
the proudest, and the greatest enemies to Christ and his holy re- 
ligion. 

With regard to his double capacity, of Jewish extraction and 
Roman freedom, he had two names, Saul and Paul; the former 
Hebrew, and the latter Latin. We must also consider his trade 
of tent-making as a part of his education ; it being a constant 
practice of the Jews to bring up their children to some honest 



t I* 



460 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

calling, that, in case of necessity, they might provide for them- 
selves by the labor of their own hands. 

Saul having obtained a thorough knowledge of the sciences 
cultivated by the Jews, and being naturally of a very hot and 
fiery temper, became a great champion of the law of Moses, and 
the tradition of the elders, which he considered as zeal for God. 

This rendered him impatient of all opposition to the doctrines 
and tenets he had imbibed, and a vehement blasphemer and per- 
secutor of the Christians, who were commonly reputed the ene- 
mies and destroyers of the Jewish economy. 

The first action we find him engaged in, was the disputation 
he and his countrymen had with the martyr Stephen, with re- 
gard to the Messiah. The Christian was too hard for them in 
the dispute: but they were too powerful for him in their civil 
interests: for being enraged at his convincing arguments, they 
carried him before the high priest, who by false accusations con- 
demned him to death. How far Saul was concerned in this cruel 
action, is impossible to say; all we know is, that he "kept the 
raiment of them that slew him." 

The storm of persecution against the church being thus begun, 
it increased prodigiously, and the poor Christians of Jerusalem 
were miserably harrassed and dispersed. In this persecution our 
apostle was a principal agent, searching all the adjacent parts 
for the afflicted saints, beating some in the synagogue, inflicting 
other cruelties, confining some in prison, and procuring others 
to be put to death. 

Nor could Jerusalem and the adjacent parts confine his fiery 
zeal: he applied to the Sanhedrim, and procured a commission 
from that court to extend his persecution to Damascus. How 
infernally insatiable is the fury of a misguided zeal ! How rest- 
less and unwearied in its designs of cruelty! It had already suf- 
ficiently harrassed the poor Christians at Jerusalem, but not con- 
tent with this, it persecuted them even to strange cities, even to 
Damascus itself, whither many of them had fled for shelter, re- 
solving to bring them back to Jerusalem, in order to their pun- 
ishment and execution. 

But it was the will of Providence he should be employed in a 
work of a very different nature; and accordingly, he was stop- 
ped in his journey. For as he was traveling between Jerusalem 
and Damascus, to execute the commission of the Jewish San- 
hedrim, a refulgent light, far exceeding the brightness of the 
sun, darted upon him; at which both he and his companions 
were terribly amazed and confounded, and immediately fell pros- 
trate on the ground. While they lay in this state, a voice was 
heard, in the Hebrew language, saying, " Saul, Saul, why perse- 
cutest thou me?" To which Saul replied, "Who art thou, 
Lord?" And was immediately answered, "I am Jesus, whom 



CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 

[Page 460.] 




"And suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven; 
" And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why perse- 
cutest thou me?" — Acts ix. 3, 4. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



463 



thou persecutest: It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." 
As if the blessed Jesus had said, " All thy attempts to extirpate 
the faith in me will prove abortive; and like kicking against the 
spikes, wound and torment thyself." 

Saul was sufficiently convinced of his folly in having acted 
against Jesus, whom he was now assured to be the true Messiah, 
and asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" On which 
the blessed Jesus replied, "Arise, and go into the city, and it 
shall be told thee what thou must do." 

The company which were with him heard the voice, but did 
not see the person who spake from heaven. In all probability 
they were ignorant of the Hebrew language, and therefore only 
heard a confused sound; for the apostle himself tells, that "they 
heard not the voice of him that spake;" that is, they did not un- 
derstand what was spoken. 

The apostle now arose from the earth, but found himself de- 
prived of sight: the resplendent brightness of the vision being 
too intense for mortal eyes to behold. His companions, there- 
fore, led him by the hand to the city of Damascus, where he en- 
tered the house of Judas, and remained there three days without 
sight, nor did he either eat or drink, but spent his time in prayer 
to the Almighty, beseeching him to pardon the sins of his ignor- 
ance, and blinded zeal. 

In the mean time our blessed Saviour appeared in a vision to 
Ananias, a very devout and religious man, highly esteemed by 
all the inhabitants of Damascus. " And the Lord said unto him, 
Arise, and go into the street, which is called Straight, and in- 
quire in the house of Judas, for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for 
behold he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named An- 
anias, coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might 
receive his sight." 

Ananias, who was ever ready to obey the commands of the 
Most High, startled at the name, having heard of the bloody 
practices of Saul at Jerusalem, and what commission he was 
now come to execute in Damascus. He, therefore, suspected 
that his conversion was nothing more than a snare artfully laid 
by him against the Christians. But our blessed Saviour soon 
removed his apprehensions, by telling him that his suspicions 
were entirely destitute of foundation; and that he had now 
taken him, as a chosen vessel, to preach the Gospel both to the 
Jews and Gentiles, and even before the greatest monarchs of 
the earth. " Go thy way," said he, " for he is a chosen vessel 
unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and the kings, 
and the children of Israel." At the same time he acquainted 
him with the great persecutions he should undergo for the sake 
of the Gospel: "For I will show him how great things he must 
suffer for my name's sake." 



164 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



This quieted the fears of Ananias, who immediately obeyed the 
heavenly vision, repaired to the house of Judas, and, laying his 
hands upon Saul, addressed him in words to this effect: — "That 
Jesus," said he, " who appeared to thee in the way, hath sent 
me to restore thy sight, and by the iufusion of his Spirit to give 
thee the knowledge of those truths which thou hast blindly and 
ignorantly persecuted; but who now is willing to receive thee 
by baptism into his church, and make thee a member of his 
body." 

This speech was no sooner pronounced, than there fell from 
his eyes thick films, resembling scales, and he received his 
sight: and after baptism conversed with the Christians at Da- 
mascus. Nor did he only converse with them, he also, to the 
great astonishment of the whole church, preached the Gospel to 
those Christians he came with an intention to destroy, at the 
same time boldly asserting, " that Jesus was the Christ, the Son 
of God;" and proving it to the Jews, with such demonstrative 
evidence, that they were confounded, and found it impossible to 
answer him. 



CHAPTER II. 

Continuation of the Life of St. Paul, from the time of his Conver- 
sion, till the Council was held at Jerusalem, 

The miraculous convert, at the instance of the divine com- 
mand, retired into Arabia Petrasa, where he received a full re- 
velation of all the mysteries of Christianity: for he himself de- 
clares that he conversed not wdth flesh and blood. Having 
preached in several parts of that country some time, he returned 
again to Damascus, applying himself, with the utmost assiduity, 
to the great work of the ministry, frequenting the synagogues 
there, powerfully confuting the objections commonly made by 
the descendants of Jacob against Jesus of Nazareth, and con- 
verting great numbers of Jews and Gentiles. 

He was, indeed, remarkably zealous in his preaching, and 
blessed with a very extraordinary method of reasoning, whereby 
he proved the fundamental points of Christianity, beyond excep- 
tion. This irritated the Jews to the highest degree; and at 
length, after two or three years' continuance in those parts, they 
found means to prevail on the governor of Damascus to have 
him put to death. But they knew it would be difficult to take 
him, as he had so many friends in the city; they therefore kept 
themselves in a continual watch, searched all the houses where 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



they supposed he might conceal himself, and also obtained a 
guard from the governor to observe the gates, in order to pre- 
vent his escaping from them. 

In this distress his Christian friends were far from deserting 
him : they tried every method that offered, to procure his 
escape, but finding it impossible for him to pass through either 
of the gates of the city, they let him down from one of their 
houses, through a window, in a basket, over the wall, by which 
means the cruel designs of his enemies were rendered abortive. 

Having thus escaped from his malicious persecutors, he re- 
paired to Jerusalem, and, on his arrival, addressed himself to 
the church. But they, knowing well the former temper and 
principles of this great persecutor, shunned his company, till 
Barnabas brought him to Peter, who was not yet cast into 
prison, and to James, bishop of Jerusalem, informing them of 
his miraculous conversion, and that he had preached the Gospel 
with the greatest boldness in the synagogues of Damascus; upon 
which they gladly received him, and familiarly entertained him 
fifteen days. 

During this interval, he was remarkably assiduous in preach- 
ing the Gospel of the Son of God, and confuting the Hellenist 
Jews with the greatest courage and resolution. But snares 
were laid for him, as malice can as easily cease to be, as to re- 
main inactive. Being warned by God in a vision, that his tes- 
timony would not be received at Jerusalem, he thought proper 
to depart, and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Accordingly, 
being conducted by his brethren to Caesarea Phillippi, he set 
sail for Tarsus, his native city: from whence he was soon after 
brought, by Barnabas, to Antioch, to assist him in propagating 
Christianity in that city. 

In this employment he spent one whole year, and had the 
satisfaction of seeing the Gospel flourish in a very remarkable 
manner. 

It was in this city that the disciples first acquired the name of 
Christians, before which they were styled Nazarenes; but this 
appellation soon prevailed all over the world; and the latter was 
in a few ages almost entirely forgotten. 

The first place visited by Barnabas and Saul was Selucia, 
where they did not continue long, but sailed for Cyprus; and at 
Salamis, a great city in that island, they preached in the syna- 
gogue of the Jews. From thence they removed to Phaos, the 
residence of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of the island, a man 
of great wisdom and prudence, but miserably seduced by the 
wicked artifices of "Bar-Jesus," a Jewish impostor, who styled 
himself Elymas, or the magician,-vehemently opposed the apos- 
tles, and kept the proconsul from embracing the faith. 

The proconsul, however, called for the apostles, who after 

54 



/ 



466 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

severely checking Elymas for his malicious opposition to the 
truth, told him, the divine vengeance was now ready to seize 
upon him; and immediately he was deprived of his sight. The 
vengeance of the Almighty was remarkably displayed in this 
punishment, by depriving him of his bodily eyes, who had so 
wilfully and maliciously shut those of his mind against the light 
of the Gospel, and also endeavored to keep others in darkness 
and ignorance. This miracle convinced the proconsul of the 
truth of the doctrines taught by the apostles, and made him a 
convert to the faith. 

St. Paul, after this remarkable success in Cyprus, repaired to 
Phrygia, in Pamphilia, and taking another with him, in the room 
of Mark, who was gone to Jerusalem, traveled to Antioch, the 
metropolis of Pisidia. 

Soon after their arrival, they entered the synagogue of the 
Jews on the sabbath-day, and after the reading of the law, Paul, 
being invited by the rulers of the synagogue, delivered an ad- 
dress so powerful, that it obtained from the converted Jews a 
request that it should again be delivered the ensuing sabbath; 
when almost the whole city flocked to hear the apostle: at which 
the Jews were filled with envy, and contradicted Paul, uttering 
many blasphemous expressions against the name of Jesus of 
Nazareth. But their opposition could not daunt the apostles, 
who boldly declared, that our blessed Saviour had charged them 
to preach the Gospel first to the Jews, but, as they so obstinately 
rejected it, they were now to address themselves to the Gentiles; 
who hearing this, rejoiced exceedingly, magnifying the works of 
the Almighty, and many of them embraced the doctrines of the 
Gospel. 

This increased the malice and fury of the Jews, who by false 
and artful insinuations, prevailed on some of the more bigoted 
and honorable women to bring over their husbands to their party; 
by which means Paul and Barnabas were driven out of the city. 
At which the apostles departed, shaking off the dust from their 
feet, as a testimony of the sense they had of the ingratitude and 
infidelity of the Jews. 

From Antioch they went to Iconium, the metropolis of Lyca- 
onia, a province of the lesser Asia, where they entered into the 
synagogue of the Jews, notwithstanding the ill-treatment they 
had met with from the Jews in other places. 

Among the converts at Lystra, was a man who had been lame 
from his mother's womb, and never had walked. But Paul, 
perceiving that he had faith to be saved, thought proper to add 
the cure of his body to that of his soul, knowing that it would 
not only be beneficial to him, but to all the rest of the believers, 
by confirming their faith. And that the miracle might be 
wrought in the most conspicuous manner, he, in the midst of the 



ELYMAS, THE SORCEROR, STRUCK BLIXD 

[Page 466.] 




"Then Saul, (who is also called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 
"And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy 
of ail righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right w S the Lord. 

" And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and th. __.ci.lt be blind, not see- 
ing the sun for a season. And immediately there leil on him a mist and a darkness ; and 
he went about, seeking some to lead him by the hand." — Acts xiii. 9 — H. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



469 



congregation, said, in an audible voice, to the man, "Stand up- 
right on thy feet." And the words were no sooner pronounced, 
than his strength was at once restored, and he leaped up, and 
walked. 

The apostles indefatigably persevered in the execution of their 
important commission, declaring, wherever they went, the glad 
tidings of salvation, through repentance unto life, and faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. But the malice of the Jews still pursued 
them; for some of these bigoted Israelites coming from Antioch 
and Iconium, exasperated and stirred up the multitude; so that 
those very persons who could hardly be restrained from offering 
sacrifice to them, now used them like slaves, stoning them in so 
cruel a manner that Paul was thought to be dead; and as such 
they dragged him out of the city; but while the Christians of 
Lystra were attending on his body, probably in order to carry 
him to the grave, he arose, and returned with them into the city, 
and the next day departed with Barnabas to Derbe, where they 
preached the Gospel, and converted many; no danger being able 
to terrify them from the work of the ministry, and publishing the 
glad tidings of salvation in every place. 

They did not, however, long continue at Derbe, but returned 
to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, and Pisidia, confirming the Chris- 
tians of those places in the faith, earnestly persuading them to 
persevere, and not to be discouraged with those troubles and 
persecutions, which they must expect would attend the profes- 
sion of the Gospel. And that the affairs of the church might be 
conducted with more regularity, they ordained elders and pas- 
tors, to teach, to instruct, and to watch over them; and then left 
them to the protection of the Almighty, to whose care they re- 
commended them by prayer and fasting. 

After leaving Antioch, they passed through Pisidia, and came 
to Pamphilia; and after preaching the Gospel at Perga, they 
went down to Attalia. 

Having thus finished the circuit of their ministry, they returned 
back to Antioch, in Syria, from whence they at first departed. 
Here they summoned the church, and gave them an account of 
their ministry, the success it had met in different parts, and how 
great a door had thus been opened for the conversion of the 
Gentile world. 



470 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



CHAPTER III. 

Transactions of this great Apostle, from the time of the Synod at 
Jerusalem, till his preaching at Athens. 

The controversy concerning the observation of Jewish cere- 
monies in the Christian church, being decided in favor of St. Paul, 
he and his companions returned back to Antioch; and soon after 
Peter himself came down. On reading the decretal epistle in 
the church, the converts conversed freely and inoffensively with 
the Gentiles, till some of the Jews coming thither from Jerusa- 
lem, Peter withdrew his conversation, as if it had been a thing 
unwarrantable and unlawful. By such a strange method of pro- 
ceeding, the minds of many were dissatisfied, and their con- 
sciences very uneasy. St. Paul with the greatest concern ob- 
served it, and publicly rebuked Peter, with that sharpness and 
severity his unwarrantable practice deserved. 

Soon after this dispute, Paul and Barnabas resolved to visit the 
churches they had planted among the Gentiles, and Barnabas 
was desirous of taking with them his cousin Mark; but this Paul 
strenuously opposed, as he had left them in their former journey. 
This trifling dispute arose to such a height, that these two great 
apostles and fellow-laborers in the Gospel parted; Barnabas 
taking Mark with him, repaired to Cyprus, his native country, 
and Paul having made choice of Silas, and recommended the 
success of his undertaking to the care of Divine Providence, set 
forward on his intended journey. 

They first visited the churches of Syria and Cilicia, confirming 
the people in the faith, by their instructions and exhortations. 
Hence they sailed to Crete, where Paul preached the Gospel, 
and constituted Titus to be the first bishop and pastor of the 
island, leaving him to settle those affairs of the church, which 
time would not permit the apostle to settle himself. From hence 
Paul and Silas returned back to Cilicia, and came to Lystra, 
where they found Timothy, whose Father was a Greek, but his 
mother a Jewish convert, and by her he had been brought up 
under all the advantages of a pious and religious education, 
especially with regard to the Holy Scriptures, which he had 
studied with the greatest assiduity and success. This person St. 
Paul designed for the companion of his travels, and a special 
instrument in the ministry of the Gospel. But knowing that his 
being uncircumcised would prove a stumbling-block to the Jews, 
he caused him to be circumcised; being willing, in lawful and 
and indifferent matters, to conform hmself to the tempers and 
apprehensions of men, in order to save their souls. In this in- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



471 



stance the apostle evinced much prudence, well knowing that 
inveterate prejudices in religious matters are not easily overcome; 
for which reason he is said to become all things to all men. 

Every thing being ready for their journey, St: Paul and his 
companions departed from Lystra, passed through Phrygia, and 
the country of Galatia, where the apostle was entertained with 
the greatest kindness and veneration, the people looking upon 
him as angel sent immediately from heaven; and being by reve- 
lation forbidden to go into Asia, he was commanded by a second 
vision to repair to Macedonia, to preach the Gospel. Accord- 
ingly our apostle prepared to pass from Asia into Europe. 

Here St. Luke joined them, and became, ever after, the insep- 
arable companion of St. Paul, who being desirous of finding the 
speediest passage into Macedonia, took ship with his companions, 
Silas, Luke, and Timothy, and came to Samothracia, an island in 
the JEgian Sea, not far from Thrace; and the next day he went 
to Neapolis, a port of Macedonia. Leaving Neapolis, tney re- 
paired to Phillippi, the metropolis of that part of Macedonia, 
and a Roman colony, where they staid some days. 

In this city, Paul, according to his constant practice, preached 
in a proseucha, or oratory of the Jews, which stood by the river 
side, at some distance from the city, and was much frequented 
by the devout women of their religion, who met there to pray, 
and hear the law. And after several days, as they were repair- 
ing to the same place of devotion, there met them a damsel who 
possessed a spirit of divination, by whom her masters acquired 
very great advantage. This woman followed Paul and his com- 
panions, crying out, " These men are the servants of the most 
high God, which shew unto us, the way of salvation!" Paul, at 
first, took no notice of her, not being willing to multiply miracles 
without necessity. But when he saw her following them several 
days together, he began to be troubled, and commanded the 
spirit, in the name of Jesus, to come out of her. The evil spirit, 
with reluctance obeyed, and left the damsel that very instant. 

This miraculous cure proving a great loss to her masters, who 
acquired large gains from her soothsaying, they were filled with 
envy and malice against the apostles; and, by their instigation, 
the multitude arose, and seized upon Paul and his companions, 
hurried them before the magistrates and governors of the colony; 
accusing them of introducing many innovations which were pre- 
judicial to the state, and unlawful for them to comply with, as 
being Romans. 

The magistrates being concerned for the tranquillity of the 
state, and jealous of all disturbances, were very forward to pun- 
ish the offenders, against whom great numbers of the multitude 
testified; and therefore commanded the officers to strip them, 
and scourge them severely, as seditious person. 



472 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



This was accordingly executed ; after which the apostles 
were committed to close custody, the gaoler receiving more 
than ordinary charge to keep them safely; and he accordingly 
thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the 
stocks. But the most obscure dungeon, or the pitchy mantle of 
the night, cannot intercept the beams of divine joy and comfort 
from the souls of pious men. Their minds were all serenity; 
and at midnight they prayed and sang praises so loud, that they 
were heard in every part of the prison. IN or were their prayers 
offered to the throne of grace in vain: an earthquake shook the 
foundations of the prison, opened the doors, loosed the chains, 
and set the prisoners at liberty. 

This convulsion of nature roused the gaoler from his sleep; 
and concluding from what he saw, that all his prisoners were 
escaped, he was going to put a period to his life; but Paul ob- 
serving him, hastily cried, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all 
here/' The keeper was now as greatly surprised at the good- 
ness of the apostles, as he was before terrified at the thoughts of 
their escape: and calling for a light, he came immediately into 
the presence of the apostles, fell down at their feet, and took 
them from the dungeon, brought them to his own house, washed 
their stripes, and begged of them to instruct him in the know- 
ledge of that God, who was so mighty to save. 

St. Paul readily granted his request, and replied, That, if he 
believed in Jesus Christ, he might be saved with his whole house; 
accordingly, the gaoler, with all his family, were, after a com- 
petent instruction, baptized, and received as members of the 
church of Christ. 

As soon as it was day, the magistrates either hearing what had 
happened, or reflecting on what they had done as too harsh and 
unjustifiable, sent their sergeant to the gaoler, with orders to 
discharge the apostles. The gaoler joyfully delivered the mes- 
sage, and bid them "depart in peace;" but Paul, that he might 
make the magistrates sensible what injury they had done them, 
and how unjustly they had punished them, without examination 
or trial, sent them word, that, as they thought proper to scourge 
and imprison Romans, contrary to the laws of the empire, he 
expected they should come themselves and make them some sat- 
isfaction. 

The magistrates were terrified at this message; well knowing 
how dangerous it was to provoke the formidable power of the 
Romans, who never suffered any freeman to be beaten uncon- 
demned; they came therefore to the prison, and very submis- 
sively entreated the apostles to depart without any further dis- 
turbance. 

This small recompense for the cruel usage they had received 
was accepted by the meek followers of the blessed Jesus; they 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



473 



left the prison, and retired to the house of Lydia, where they 
comforted their brethren with an account of their deliverance, 
and departed; having laid the foundation of a very eminent 
church, as it appears from St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians. 
Leaving Philippi, Paul and his campanions continued their jour- 
ney towards the west, till they came to Thessalonica, the metro- 
polis of Macedonia, about a hundred and twenty miles from 
Philippi. On their arrival at Thessalonica, Paul according to 
his custom, went into the synagogue of the Jews, and preached 
unto his countrymen. His doctrine, however, was strenuously 
opposed by the Jews, who would not allow Jesus to be the Mes- 
siah, because of his ignominious death. 

During the stay of the apostles at Thessalonica, they lodged 
in the house of a certain Christian, named Jason, who enter- 
tained them very courteously. But the Jews w r ould not suffer 
the apostles to continue at rest. They refused to embrace the 
Gospel themselves, and therefore envied its success, and deter- 
mined to oppose its progress. Accordingly, they gathered to- 
gether a great number of lewd and wicked wretches, who beset 
the house of Jason, intending to take Paul, and deliver him up 
to an incensed multitude. But in this they were disappointed; 
Paul and Silas being removed from thence by the Christians, 
and concealed in some other part of the city and finally sent 
away by night to Berasa, a city about fifty miles south of Thes- 
salonica, but out of the power of their enemies. Here also Paul's 
great love for his countrymen, the Jews, and his earnest desire 
of their salvation, excited him to preach to them in particular; 
accordingly, he entered into their synagogue, and explained the 
Gospel unto them, proving, out of the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament, the truth of the doctrines he advanced. These Jews 
were of a more ingenuous and candid temper than those of Thes- 
salonica; and as they heard him with great reverence and atten- 
tion, expound and apply the Scriptures, so they searched dili- 
gently, whether his proofs were proper and pertinent, and con- 
sonant to the sense of the texts he referred to: and having found 
every thing to be agreeable to what Paul had advanced, many 
of them believed; and several Gentiles, following their example, 
became obedient to the faith, among whom were several women 
of quality. The news of this remarkable success was carried to 
Thessalonica, and greatly incensed the inveterate enemies of the 
Gospel there, who accordingly repaired to Berasa, and raised 
tumults against the apostle: so that Paul, to avoid their fury, 
was forced to leave the town; but Silas and Timothy, either less 
known or less envied, continued still there. 

Paul leaving Berasa, under the conduct of certain guides, it 
was said he designed to retire by sea out of Greece, that his 
restless enemies might cease their persecution; but the guides, 



474 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



according to Paul's order, brought him to Athens, and left him 
there after receiving from him an order for Silas and Timotheus 
to repair to him as soon as possible. 

While St. Paul continued at Athens, expecting the arrival of 
Silas and Timothy, he walked up and down, to take a more ac- 
curate survey of the city, which he found miserably overrun with 
superstition and idolatry. 

Their superstitious practices grieved the spirit of the apostle; 
accordingly, he exerted all his strength for their conversion; he 
disputed on the sabbath-days in the synagogues of the Jews, and 
at other times took all opportunities of preaching to the Athen- 
ians the coming of the Messiah to save the world. 

This doctrine was equally new and strange to the Athenians; 
and though they did not persecute him as the Jews did, yet his 
preaching Jesus was considered by the Epicurean and Stoic phi- 
losophers as a fabulous legend, and by the more sober part as a 
discovery of some new gods, which they had not yet placed in 
their temples: and though they were not unwilling to recieve 
any new deities, yet as the Areopagus, the supreme court of the 
city, was to judge of all gods, to whom public worship might be 
allowed, they brought him before those judges, to give an ac- 
count of his doctrine. 

Paul being placed before the judges of this high assembly, 
readily gave them an account of his doctrine, in a grave and ele- 
gant speech; wherein he did not tell them they were horrible 
and gross idolaters, lest he should offend them, and thereby pre- 
vent them from listening to his reasons: but, having commended 
them for their religious dispositions, he took occasion, from the 
altar inscribed to the "unknown God," to make a proper de- 
fence of his doctrine. "I endeavor," said he, "only to explain 
that altar to you, and manifest the nature of that God whom ye 
ignorantly worship. The true God is he that made the world, 
and all things therein; and who being Lord of all, dwells not in 
temples made with hands, nor is to be worshipped in lifeless 
idols. As he is the Creator of all things, he cannot be confined 
to the workmanship of man, whether temples or statues; nor 
stand in need of sacrifices, since he is the fountain of life to all 
things. He made from one common original, the whole race of 
mankind, and hath wisely determined their dependance on him, 
that they might be oblige to seek after him and serve him. A 
truth perceivable in the darkest state of ignorance, and acknow- 
ledged by one of your own poets. If this be the nature of God, 
it is surely the highest absurdity to represent him by an image 
or similitude. The divine patience hath been too much exer- 
cised already with such gross abuses in religion, but now expects 
a thorough reformation, having sent his son Jesus Christ to make 



PAUL PREACHING AT ATHENS 

[Page 474.] 




"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars-hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive 
that in all things ye are too superstitious. 

" For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, 
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore, ye ignorantly worship, him declare 
I unto you." — Acts, xvii. 22, 23. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



477 



him known to the world, and at the same time to inform them 
that he hath appointed a day of general judgment, when the 
religion of mankind shall be tried by the test of the Gospel, 
before his only begotten Son, who is appointed sole judge of the 
quick and dead, and whose commission to that high office hath 
been ratified by the Almighty, in raising him from the dead." 

On his mentioning the resurrection, some of the philosophers 
mocked and derided him; others, more modest, but not satisfied 
with the proofs he had given, gravely answered, "We would 
hear thee again of this matter." After which Paul departed from 
the court; but not without some success: for a few of his audi- 
tors believed and attended his instructions. 

Thus boldly did this intrepid servant and soldier of Jesus 
Christ assert the cause of his divine Master, among the great, 
the wise, and the learned, and reason with great persuasion and 
eloquence on the nature of God, and the manner in which he 
has commanded his creatures to worship him, even in spirit and 
in truth. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Success of St. PauVs Ministry at Corinth and Ephesus. 

During St. Paul's stay at Athens, Timothy, according to the 
order he had received, came to him, out of Macedonia, and 
brought an account that the Christians at Thessalonica were 
under persecution from their fellow citizens, ever since his de- 
parture: at which St. Paul was greatly concerned, and at first 
inclined to visit them in person, to confirm them in the faith 
they had embraced; but being hindered by the enemies of the 
Gospel, he sent Timothy to comfort them, and put them in mind 
of what they had at first heard, namely, that persecution would 
be the constant attendant on their profession. 

On Timothy's departure, St. Paul left Athens, and traveled to 
Corinth, a very populous place, and famous for its trade. 

After some stay at Corinth, the apostle was joined by Silas and 
Timothy, and disputed frequently in the synagogue, reasoning 
and proving, that Jesus was the true Messiah. 

During his stay at Corinth, he wrote his Second Epistle to the 
Thessalonians, to supply his absence. In this epistle he again 
endeavors to confirm their minds in the truth of the Gospel, and 
prevent their being shaken with those troubles which the wicked 
and unbelieving Jews would be continually raising against them. 

55 



478 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



St. Paul, on his leaving the church at Corinth, took ship at 
Cenchrea, the port of Corinth, for Syria, taking with him 
Aquilaand Priscilla; and on his arrival at Ephesus, he preached 
awhile in the synagogue of the Jews, promising to return to 
them, after keeping the passover at Jerusalem. Accordingly, 
he again took ship, and landed at Caesarea, and from thence 
traveled to Jerusalem, where he kept the feast, visited the 
church, and then repaired to Antioch. Here he staid some 
time, and then traversed the countries of Galatia and Phrygia, 
confirming the newly converted Christians, till he came to 
Ephesus, where he fixed his abode for three years, bringing 
with him Gaius of Derbe, Aristarchus, a native of Thessalonica, 
Timotheus and Erastus of Corinth, and Titus. The first thing 
he did after his arrival, was to examine certain disciples, 
" Whether they had received the Holy Ghost since they believ- 
ed?" To which they answered, "that the doctrine they had 
received promised nothing of that nature, nor had they ever 
heard that such an extraordinary spirit had of late been bestow- 
ed upon the church." 

This answer surprised the apostle, who asked them, in what 
name they had been baptized ; since in the Christian form, the 
name of the Holy Ghost was always expressed? They replied 
that they had only received John's baptism; upon which the 
apostle informed them, that though John's baptism commanded 
nothing but repentance, yet it tacitly implied the whole doctrine 
of Christ and the Holy Ghost. When they heard this, they 
were baptized according to the form prescribed by Christ him- 
self, that is, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost; and after the apostle had prayed, and laid his hands 
upon them, they received the gifts of tongues, and other miracu- 
lous powers. 

After this, he entered into the Jewish synagogues, where, for 
the first three months, he contended and disputed with the Jews, 
endeavoring, with great earnestness and resolution, to convince 
them of the truth of the Christian religion. But when, instead 
of success, he met with nothing but obstinacy and infidelity, he 
left the synagogue, and taking those with him whom he had 
converted, instructed them and others who resorted to him, in 
the school of one Tyrannus, a place where scholars used to be 
instructed. In this manner he continued to preach the Gospel 
two whole years; by which means the Jews and proselytes had 
an opportunity of hearing the glad tidings of salvation; and be- 
cause miracles are the clearest evidence of a divine commission, 
the Almighty was pleased to testify the doctrine which St. Paul 
delivered by amazing and miraculous operations, many of which 
were of a peculiar and extraordinary nature; for he not only 
healed those who came to him, but if napkins or handkerchiefs 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



479 



were only touched by him, and applied to the sick, their diseases 
immediately vanished, and the evil spirits departed out of those 
that were possessed by them. 

About this time the apostle wrote his epistle to the Galatians; 
for he had heard that, since his departure, corrupt opinions had 
crept in among them, with regard to the necessity of observing 
the legal rites. 



CHAPTER V. 

Transactions of St. Paul, during the farther progress of his Min- 
istry, to the time of his arraignment before Felix, 

Soon after the great tumult at Ephesus, about the goddess 
Diana, Paul called the Christians together, and took his leave 
of them with the utmost tender expressions of love and affection. 
He had now spent almost three years at Ephesus, and founded 
there a very considerable church, of which he had ordained 
Timothy the first bishop. He first traveled about two hundred 
miles northward, to Troas, before he took ship, expecting to 
meet Titus there. But missing him, he proceeded on his voyage 
to Macedonia. 

On his arrival there, he preached the Gospel in several places, 
even as far as Illyricum, now called Sclavonia. During this 
journey he met with many troubles and dangers, without were 
fightings, and within were fears;" but God who comforteth those 
that are cast down, revived his spirits by the arrival of Titus, 
who gave him a pleasing account of the good effects his epistle 
had produced at Corinth. 

During the stay of Titus in Macedonia, Paul wrote his second 
epistle to the Corinthians, and sent it to them by Titus and Luke. 

About this time also he wrote his first epistle to Timothy, 
whom he left at Ephesus. 

During his stay in Greece, he went to Corinth, where he 
wrote his famous epistle to the Romans, which he sent by Phcebe, 
a deaconess of the church of Cenchrea, near Corinth. His 
principal intention in this epistle is, fully to state and determine 
the great controversy between the Jews and Gentiles, with 
regard to the obligations of the rites and ceremonies of the Jew- 
ish law, and those principal and material points of doctrine de- 
pending upon it, namely, Christian liberty, the use of indifferent 
things, and the like. And, w r hich is the chief intention of 
all religion, instructs them, and presses them to perform the 



480 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



duties of a holy and pious life, such as the Christian doctrine 
naturally recommends. 

St. Paul being now determined to return into Syria, in order 
to convey the contributions to the brethren at Jerusalem, set out 
on his journey; but being informed that the Jews had formed a 
design of killing and robbing him by the way, he returned back 
into Macedonia, and came to Phillippi, from whence he went to 
Troas, where he staid seven days. Here he preached to them 
on the Lord's day, and continued his discourse till midnight, be- 
ing himself to depart in the morning. 

How indefatigable was the industry of this great apostle! 
How closely did he tread in the steps of his great Master, who 
"went about doing good!" He preached, and wrought miracles 
wherever he came. As a master builder, he either laid a foun- 
dation, or raised the superstructure. He was " instant in season, 
and out of season," and spared no pains to assist the souls of 
men. 

The night being thus spent in holy exercises, St. Paul took 
his leave of the brethren in the morning, traveling on foot to 
Assos, a sea-port town, whither he had before sent his compan- 
ions by sea. From thence they sailed to Mytilene, a city in the 
Isle of Lesbos. They next sailed from thence, and came over 
against Chios, and the day following landed at Trogyllium, 
a promontory of Ionia, near Samos. The next day they came 
to Miletus, not putting in at Ephesus, because the apostle was 
resolved, if possible, to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pente- 
cost. 

On his arrival at Miletus, he sent to Ephesus, to summon the 
elders of the church; and, on their coming, reminded them of 
the manner in which he had conversed among them, how faith- 
fully and affectionately he had discharged the offices of his min- 
istry, and how incessantly he had labored for the good of the 
souls of men: adding, that he had never failed to acquaint them, 
both in public and private, with whatever might be useful and 
profitable to them, urging both the Jews and Gentiles to repen- 
tance, and reformation of life, and a hearty perseverance in the 
faith of Christ: that he was now going up to Jerusalem, where 
he was ignorant of what might befall him, except what had been 
foretold him by those who were endued with the prophetical 
gifts of the Holy Ghost; namely that afflictions and imprison- 
ment would attend him; but that this gave him no concern, 
being willing to lay down his life whenever the Gospel required 
it, and fully determined to serve faithfully his great Lord and 
Master. 

St. Paul having finished his discourse, he kneeled down, and 
joined with them in prayer; and they all melted into tears, and, 
with the greatest expressions of sorrow, attended him to the ship; 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



481 



grieving in the most passionate manner for what he had told 
them, " That they should see his face no more." 

Paul, with his companions, now departed from Miletus, and 
arrived at Coos, from whence they sailed the next day to Rhodes, 
a large island in the iEgean sea. Leaving this place, they came 
to Patara, the metropolis of Lycia, where they went on board 
another vessel bound for Tyre, in Phoenicia. On his arrival, he 
visited the brethren there, and continued with them a week, and 
was advised by some of them, who had the gift of prophecy, not 
to go up to Jerusalem. But the apostle would by no means aban- 
don his design, or refuse to suffer any thing, provided he might 
spread the Gospel of his Saviour. Finding all persuasions were 
in vain, they jointly accompanied him to the shore, where he 
kneeled down, and prayed with them; and after embracing them 
with the utmost affection, he went on board, and came to Ptole- 
mias, and the next day to Caesarea. 

During their stay in this place, Agahus, a Christian prophet, 
came thither from Judea, who, taking Paul's girdle, bound his 
own hands and feet with it, signifying, by this symbol, that the 
Jews would bind Paul in that manner, and deliver him over to 
the Gentiles. Whereupon both his own companions, and the 
Christians of Csesarea earnestly besought him that he would not 
go up to Jerusalem. But the apostle asked them, if they in- 
tended by these passionate dissuasives to add more affliction to 
his sorrow. "For I am ready," continued he, "not only to be 
bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord 
Jesus." 

When the disciples found that his resolution was not to be 
shaken, they importuned him no further, leaving the event to be 
determined according to the pleasure of the Most High. And 
all things being ready, Paul and his companions set forward on 
their journey, and were kindly and joyfully received by the 
Christians on their arrival at Jerusalem. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Transactions of St, Paul, from his first Trial before Felix, till 
his coming to Rome. 

Our apostle soon after his arrival, encountered Tertullus, who, 
in a short, but eloquent speech, began to accuse him, charging 
him with sedition, heresy, and the profanation of the temple. 



482 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



The orator having finished his charge against the apostle, Fe- 
lix told St. Paul that he was now at liberty to make his defence, 
which he did in the following manner: 

"I answer this charge of the Jews with the greatest satisfac- 
tion before thee, because thou hast for many years been a judge 
of this nation. About twelve days since, I repaired to Jerusa- 
lem, to worship the God of Jacob. But I neither disputed with 
any man, or endeavored to stir the people in the synagogues or 
the city. Nor can they prove the charge they have brought 
against me. 

"This, however, I readily confess, that after the way which 
they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, and accord- 
ing to this faith, I am careful to maintain a clear and quiet con- 
science, both towards God and man. 

"After I had spent some years in distant countries, I repaired 
to Jerusalem, with the alms I had collected in other provinces, 
for the poor of mine own nation, an offering to the God of Ja- 
cob. And while I was performing the duties of religion, certain 
Asiatic Jews found me in the temple, purified according to the 
law; but neither attended with a multitude of followers, or the 
least tumultuous assembly. It was therefore necessary that these 
Jews should have been here, if they had any thing to allege 
against me. Nay, I appeal to those of the Sanhedrim here pre- 
sent, if any thing has been laid to my charge, except the objec- 
tions of the Sadducees, who violently opposed me for asserting 
the doctrine of the resurrection." 

Felix having thus heard both parties, refused to pass any 
final sentence, till he had more fully advised about it, and con- 
sulted Lysias, the governor of the castle, who was the most 
proper person to give an accou t of the sedition and tumult; 
commanding, in the mean time, that St. Paul should be kept 
under a guard, but at the same time enjoy the liberty of being 
visited by his friends, and receiving from them any office of 
friendship. 

Some time after St. Paul had appealed unto Cassar, king 
Agrippa, who succeeded Herod in the Tetrarchate of Galilee, 
and his sister Bernice, came to Caesarea to visit the new gov- 
ernor. Festus embraced this opportunity of mentioning the case 
of our apostle to king Agrippa, together with the remarkable 
tumult this affair had occasioned among the Jews, and the appeal 
he had made to Cassar. This account excited the curiosity of 
king Agrippa, and he was desirous of hearing himself what St. 
Paul had to say in his own vindication. 

Accordingly, the next day, the king and his sister, accompa- 
nied with Festus the governor, and several other persons of dis- 
tinction came into the court with a pompous and splendid retinue, 
where the prisoner was brought before them. On his appearing, 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES; 



483 



Festus informed the court, how greatly he had been importuned 
by the Jews, both at Caesarea and Jerusalem, to put the prisoner 
to death as a malefactor; but having, on examination, found him 
guilty of no capital crime, and the prisoner himself having ap- 
pealed unto Caesar, he was determined to send him to Rome; but 
was willing to have his cause debated before Agrippa, that he 
might be furnished with some material particulars to send with 
him; it being highly absurd to send a prisoner without signifying 
the crimes alleged against him. 

Festus having finished his speech, Agrippa told Paul, he was 
now at liberty to make his own defence: and silence being made, 
he delivered himself in the following manner, addressing his 
speech particularly to Agrippa: 

"I consider it as a particular happiness, king Agrippa, that I 
am to make my defence against the accusations of the Jews be- 
fore thee: because thou art well acquainted with all their cus- 
toms, and the questions commonly debated among them: I there- 
fore beseech thee to hear me patiently. All the Jews are well 
acquainted with my manner of life, from my youth, the greatest 
part of it having been spent with my own countrymen at Jeru- 
salem. They also know that I was educated under the institu- 
tions of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion, and am 
now arraigned for a tenet believed by all their fathers; a tenet 
sufficiently credible in itself, and plainly revealed in the Scrip- 
tures, I mean, the resurrection of the dead. Why should any 
mortal think it either incredible or impossible, that God should 
raise the dead? 

"I, indeed, formerly thought myself indispensably obliged to 
oppose the religion of Jesus of Nazareth. Nor was I satisfied 
with imprisoning and punishing with death itself the saints I found 
at Jerusalem; I even persecuted them in strange cities, whither 
my implacable zeal pursued them, having procured authority for 
that purpose from the chief priests and elders. 

"Accordingly I departed for Damascus, with a commission 
from the Sanhedrim: but as I was traveling towards that city, 
I saw at mid-day, O king, a light from heaven, far exceeding the 
brightness of the sun, encompassing me and my companions. 
On seeing this awful appearance, we all fell to the earth, and 
I heard a voice which said to me, in the Hebrew language, 
4 Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to 
kick against the pricks.' To which I answered, 4 Who art thou, 
Lord?' and he replied, 4 1 am Jesus, whom thou persecutest,* 
But be not terrified, arise from the earth: for I have appeared 
unto thee, that thou mightest be both a witness of the things 
thou hast seen, and also of others which I will hereafter reveal 
unto thee. My power shall deliver thee from the Jews and 
Gentiles, to whom now I send thee to preach the Gospel; to 



484 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



withdraw the veil of darkness and ignorance; to turn them 
from falsehood unto truth, " and from the power of Satan unto 
God." 

"Accordingly, king Agrippa, I readily obeyed the heavenly 
vision: I preached the Gospel first to the inhabitants of Damas- 
cus, then to those of Jerusalem and Judea, and afterwards to the 
Gentiles; persuading them to forsake their iniquities, and, by 
sincere repentance, turn to the living God. 

" These endeavors to save the souls of sinful mortals exas- 
perated the Jews, who caught me in the temple, and entered 
into a conspiracy to destroy me. But by the help of Omni- 
potence, I still remain a witness to all the human race, preach- 
ing nothing but what Moses and all the prophets foretold, namely, 
That the Messiah should suffer, be the first that should rise from 
the chambers of the grave, and publish the glad tidings of salva- 
tion, both to the Jews and Gentiles." 

While the apostle thus pleaded for himself, Festus cried out, 
"Paul, thou art mad; too much study hath deprived thee of 
thy reason." But Paul answered, "lam far, most noble Fes- 
tus, from being transported with idle and distracted ideas; the 
words I speak are dictated by truth and sobriety; and I am 
persuaded that the king Agrippa himself is not ignorant of these 
things; for they were transacted openly before the world. I 
am confident, king Agrippa, that thou believest the prophets, 
and therefore must know all their predictions were fulfilled 
in Christ." To which Agrippa answered, "Thou hast almost 
persuaded me to embrace the Christian faith." Paul replied, 
" I sincerely wish that not only thou, but also all that hear me, 
were not almost, but altogether, the same as I myself, except 
being prisoners." 

It being now finally determined, that Paul should be sent to 
Rome, he was, with several other prisoners of consequence com- 
mitted to the care of Julius, commander of a company belonging 
to the legion of Augustus; and was accompanied in his voyage 
by St. Luke, Aristarchus, Trophimus, and some others not men- 
tioned by the sacred historian. 

In the month of September, they embarked on board a ship of 
Adramyttium, and sailed to Sidon, where the centurion courte- 
ously gave the apostle leave to go on shore to visit his friends 
and refresh himself. 

After a short stay they sailed for Cyprus, and arrived oppo- 
site the Fair-Havens, a place near Myra, a city of Lycia. 
Here the season being far advanced, and Paul foreseeing it 
would be a dangerous voyage, persuaded them to put in and 
winter there. But the Roman centurion preferring the opinion 
of the master of the ship, and the harbor being at the same time 
incommodious, resolved, if possible, to reach Phoenice, a port 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



485 



of Crete, and winter there. But they soon found themselves dis- 
appointed; for the fine souther] y gale which had favored them for 
some time, suddenly changed into a stormy and tempestuous wind 
at north-east, which hlew with such violence, that the ship was 
obliged to sail before it; and to prevent her sinking, they threw 
overboard the principal part of her lading. 

In this desperate and uncomfortable condition they continued 
fourteen days, and on the fourteenth night the mariners discov- 
ered they were near some coast, and, therefore, to avoid the 
rocks, thought proper to come to an anchor, till the morning 
might give them better information. 

During the time they continued at anchor, waiting for the 
light of the morning, St. Paul prevailed upon them to eat and 
refresh themselves, having fasted a long time, assuring them they 
should all escape. 

The country near which they were, was, as Paul had foretold, 
an island called Melita, now Malta, situated in the Lybian Sea, 
between Syracuse and Africa. Here they landed, and met with 
great civility from the people, who treated them with humanity, 
and entertained them with every necessary accommodation. But 
whilst St. Paul was laying a few sticks on the fire a viper, en- 
livened by the heat, came from among the wood, and fastened 
on his hand. On seeing this, the inhabitants of the island con- 
cluded, that he was certainly some notorious murderer, whom the 
divine vengeance, though it suffered him to escape the sea, had 
reserved for a more public and solemn execution. But when 
they saw him shake off the venomous creature into the fire, and 
no manner of harm ensue, they changed their sentiments, and 
cried cut, "that he was a God." 

After three months stay in this island, the centurion with his 
charge went on board the Castor and Pollux, a ship of Alexan- 
dria, bound to Italy. They put in at Syracuse, where they tar- 
ried three days; then they sailed to Regium, and from thence to 
Puteoli, where they landed; and finding some Christians there, 
staid, at their request, a week with them, and then set forward 
on their journey to Rome. The Christians of this city, hearing 
of the apostle's coming, went to meet him as far as the distance 
of about thirty miles from Rome, and others as far as the Apii- 
forum, fifty-one miles distant from the capital. They kindly 
embraced each other, and the liberty he saw the Christians 
enjoy at Rome greatly tended to enliven the spirits of the apos- 
tle. 



56 



486 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The transactions of St. Paul, from his arrival at Rome, till his 

Martyrdom. 

Having refreshed himself after the fatigue of his voyage, the 
apostle sent for the heads of the Jewish consistory at Rome, 
and related to them the cause of his coming, in the following 
manner: "Though I have been guilty of no violence of the 
laws of our religion, yet I was delivered by the Jews at Jeru- 
salem to the Roman governors, who more than once would 
have acquitted me as innocent of any capital offence: but, by 
the perverseness of my persecutors, I was obliged to appeal 
unto Caesar; not that I had any thing to accuse my nation of: 
I had recourse to this method merely to clear my own inno- 
cence." 

Having thus removed a popular prejudice, he added, "That 
the true cause of his sufferings was that their own religion had 
taught him, ' the belief and expectation of a future resurrec- 
tion.' " But his discourse had different effects on different hear- 
ers, some being convinced, and others persisting in their infi- 
delity. 

For two whole years Paul dwelt at Rome, in a house he had 
hired for his own use; wherein he assiduously employed himself 
in preaching and w riting for the good of the church. 

The Christians of Philippi hearing of St. Paul's being at 
Rome, and not knowing what distress he might be reduced to, 
raised a contribution for him, and sent it by Epaphrodit^us, their 
bishop, by whom he returned an epistle to them, wherein he 
gives some account of the state of his affairs at Rome. 

St. Paul lived about three years at Ephesus, preaching the 
Gospel to the numerous inhabitants of that city, and was there- 
fore well acquainted with the state and condition of the place: 
so that taking the opportunity of Tychicus's going thither, he 
wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, wherein he endeavors to coun- 
termine the principles and practices both of the Jews and Gen- 
tiles, to confirm them in the belief and practices of the Chris- 
tian doctrine, and to instruct them fully in the great mysteries of 
the Gospel. 

By what means St. Paul was discharged from the accusation 
the Jews brought against him, we have no account in history: 
but it is natural to suppose, that not having sufficient proof of 
what they alleged, or being informed that the crimes they accused 
him of, were no violation of the Roman laws, they durst not 
implead him before the emperor, and so permitted him to be dis- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



48? 



charged of course. But by whatever means; he procured his lib- 
erty, he wrote his epistle to the Hebrews before he left Italy, 
from whence he dates his salutations. 

The principal design of it is to magnify Christ, and the reli- 
gion of the Gospel, above Moses and the Jewish economy, in 
order to establish and confirm the converted Jews in the firm be- 
lief and profession of Christianity, notwithstanding the trouble 
and persecutions that would certainly attend them. 

Having thus discharged his ministry, both by preaching and 
writing, in Italy, St. Paul, accompanied by Timothy, prosecu- 
ted his long-intended journey into Spain; and, according to the 
testimony of several writers, crossed the sea and preached the 
Gospel in Britain. 

What success he had in these western parts is not known: he 
however, continued there eight or nine months, and then returned 
again to the east, visited Sicily, Greece, and Crete, and then re- 
paired to Rome. 

Here he met with Peter, and was together with him, thrown 
into prison, doubtless in the general persecution raised against 
the Christians, under pretence that they had set fire to the city. 
How long he remained in prison is uncertain; nor do we know 
whether he was scourged before his execution. He was, how- 
ever, allowed the privilege of a Roman citizen, and therefore 
beheaded. 

Being come to the place of execution, which was the Aquae 
Salviae, three miles from Rome, he cheerfully, after a solemn 
preparation, gave his neck to the fatal stroke; and from this vale 
of misery passed to the blissful regions of immortality, to the 
kingdom of his beloved Master, the great Redeemer of the hu- 
man race. 

He was buried in the Via Ostiensis, about two miles from 
Rome; and about the year 317, Constantine the Great, at the 
instance of Pope Sylvester, built a stately church over his grave, 
adorned it with an hundred marble columns, and beautified it 
with the most exquisite workmanship. 



488 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. ANDREW. 

CHAPTER I. 

The transactions of St, Andrew, from his Birth to his being called to 
the Apostleship* 

This apostle was born at Bethsaida, a city of Galilee, built on 
the banks of the Lake of Genesareth, and was son to John, or 
Jonas, a fisherman of that town. He was brother to Simon 
Peter, but whether older or younger is not certainly known, 
though the generality of the ancients intimate that he was the 
younger. He was brought up to his father's trade, at which he 
labored till our blessed Saviour called him to be a fisher of men, 
for which he was, by some preparatory instructions, qualified 
even before the appearance of the Messiah. 

John the Baptist had lately preached the doctrine of repent- 
ance, and was, by the generality of the Jews, from the impar- 
tiality of his precepts, and the remarkable strictness and auster- 
ity of his life, held in great veneration. 

In the number of his followers was our apostle, who accom- 
panied him beyond Jordan, when the Messiah, who had some 
time before been baptized, came that way. Upon his approach, 
the Baptist pointed him out as the Messiah, styling him the Lamb 
of God, the true sacrifice that was to expiate the sins of the 
world. As soon as the Baptist had given this character of Jesus, 
Andrew, and another disciple, probably St. John, followed the 
Saviour of mankind to the place of his abode. 

After some conversation with him, Andrew departed, and hav- 
ing found his brother Simon, informed him that he had discover- 
ed the great Messiah, so long expected by the house of Jacob, 
and accordingly brought him to Jesus. They did not, however, 
stay long with their Master, but returned to their calling. 

Something more than a year after, Jesus, passing through 
Galilee, found Andrew and Peter fishing on the sea of Galilee, 
where he fully satisfied them of the greatness and divinity of 
his person, by a miraculous draught of fishes, which they took 
at his command. He now told them that they should enter on 
a different series of labors, and instead of fish, should, by the 
efficacy and influence of their doctrine upon the heart and con- 
science, catch men; commanding them to follow him, as his 
immediate disciples and attendants; and accordingly they left 
all and followed him. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



489 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St. Andrew, from our blessed Saviour's Ascen- 
sion, till his Martyrdom. 

After the ascension of the blessed Jesus into heaven, and the 
descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles, to qualify them for 
their great undertaking, St. Andrew, according to the generality 
of ancient writers, was chosen to preach the Gospel in Scythia, 
and the neighboring countries. 

Accordingly he departed from Jerusalem, and first traveled 
through Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bythinia, instructing the in- 
habitants in the faith of Christ, and continued his journey along 
the Euxine Sea, into the deserts of Scythia. An ancient author 
tells us, that he first came to Amynsus, where, being entertained 
by a Jew, he went into the synagogue, preached to them con- 
cerning Jesus, and from the prophecies of the Old Testament 
proved him to be the Messiah, and Saviour of the world. Hav- 
ing converted many here, he settled the times of their public 
meetings, and ordained them priests. 

He went next to Trapezium, a maritime city on the Euxine 
sea; from whence, after visiting many other places, he came to 
Nice, where he stayed two years, preaching and working mira- 
cles with great success. After leaving Nice, he passed to Nico- 
demia, and from thence to Chalcedon, whence he sailed through 
the Propontis, came by the Euxine sea to Heraclea, and after- 
wards to Amastris. In all these places he met with the greatest 
difficulties, but overcame them by an invincible patience and 
resolution. 

He next came to Synope, a city situated on the same sea, and 
famous both for the birth and burial of king Mithridates ; here 
he met with his brother Peter, and stayed with him a consider- 
able time. The inhabitants of Synope were mostly Jews, who 
partly from a zeal for their religion, and partly from their bar- 
barous manners, were exasperated against St. Andrew, and en- 
tered into a confederacy to burn the house in which he lodged. 
But being disappointed in their design, they treated him with 
the most savage cruelty, throwing him on the ground, stamping 
upon him with their feet, pulling and dragging him from place 
to place ; some beating him with clubs, some pelting him with 
stones, and others, to satisfy their brutal revenge, biting off his 
flesh with their teeth; till apprehending they had entirely de- 
prived him of life, they cast him out into the fields. But he mirac- 
ulously recovered, and returned publicly into the city ; by which 



490 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



and other miracles he wrought among them, he converted man}' 
from the error of their ways, and induced them to become disci- 
ples of the blessed Jesus. 

Departing from Synope,he returned to Jerusalem; but he did 
uot continue long in that neighborhood. He returned again to 
the province alloted him for the exercise of his ministry, which 
greatly flourished through the power of the divine grace that 
attended it. 

He traveled over Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Achaia, and 
Epirus, preaching the Gospel, propagating Christianity, and then 
confirming the doctrine he taught with signs and miracles. At 
last he came to Petrea, a city of Achaia, where he gave his last 
and greatest testimony to the Gospel of his divine Master, seal- 
ing it with his blood. 

iEgenas, proconsul of Achaia, came at this time to Petrea, 
where, observing that multitudes had abandoned the heathen 
religion, and embraced the Gospel of Christ, he had recourse to 
every method, both of favor and cruelty, to reduce the people 
to their old idolatry. The apostle, whom no difficulties or 
dangers could deter from performing the duties of his ministry, 
addressed himself to the proconsul, calmly putting him in mind 
that, being only a judge of men, he ought to revere him who 
was the supreme and impartial judge of all, pay him the divine 
honors due to his exalted majesty, and abandon the impieties of 
his idolatrous worship; observed to him, that if he would re- 
nounce his idolatries, and heartily embrace the Christian faith, 
he should, with him and the numbers who had believed in the 
Son of God, receive eternal happiness in the Messiah's king- 
dom. The proconsul answered, that he himself should never 
embrace the religion he mentioned; and that the only reason 
why he was so earnest with him to sacrifice to the gods was, 
that those whom he had every where seduced might, by his ex- 
ample, be brought back to the ancient religion they had for- 
saken. The apostle replied, that he saw it was in vain to 
endeavor to persuade a person incapable of sober counsels, and 
hardened in his own blindness and folly; that with regard to 
himself, he might act as he pleased, and if he had, any torment 
greater than another, he might heap that upon him; as the great- 
est constancy he showed in his sufferings for Christ, the more 
acceptable he should be to his Lord and Master. iEgenas could 
hold no longer; and after treating him with very opprobrious 
language, and showing him the most distinguished marks of 
contempt, he passed sentence on him that he should be put to 
death. 

He first ordered the apostle to be scourged, and seven lictors 
successively whipped his naked body; but. seeing his invincible 
patience and constancy, he commanded him to be crucified; but 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



491 



to be fastened to the cross with cords instead of nails, that his 
death might be more lingering and tedious. 

As he was led to the place of execution, walking with a cheer- 
ful and composed mind, the people cried out, that a good and 
innocent man was unjustly condemned to die. On his coming 
near the cross, he saluted it in the following manner: "1 have 
long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been 
consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it, and adorned 
with his members as with so many inestimable jewels. I there- 
fore come joyfully and triumphing to it, that it may receive me 
as a disciple and follower of him, who once hung upon it, and 
be the means of carrying me safe to my Master, being the instru- 
ment on which he redeemed me." 

After offering up his prayer to the throne of grace, and ex- 
horting the people to constancy and perseverance in the faith he 
had delivered to them, he was fastened to the cross, on which he 
hung two whole days, teaching and instructing the people in the 
best manner his wretched situation would admit, being sometimes 
so weak and faint as scarce to have the power of utterance. 

In the mean time great interest was made to the proconsul to 
spare his life: but the apostle earnestly begged of the Almighty 
that he might now depart, and seal the truth of his religion with 
his blood. His prayers were heard, and he expired on the last 
day of November, but in what year is uncertain. 

There seems to have been something peculiar in the form of 
the cross on which he suffered. It was commonly thought to 
have been a cross decussate, or two pieces of timber crossing 
each other in the centre, in the form of the letter X, and hence 
usually known by the name of St. Andrew's cross. 

His body being taking down from the cross, was decently and 
honorably interred by Maximillia, a lady of great quality and 
estate, and whom Nicephorus tells us, was wife to the proconsul. 

Constantine the Great afterwards removed his body to Con- 
stantinople, and buried it in the great church he had built to the 
honor of the apostles; but this structure being taken down some 
hundred years after, in order to rebuild it, by Justinian the em- 
peror, the body of St. Andrew was found in a wooden coffin, and 
again deposited in its proper place. 



492 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. JAMES THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Transactions of St. James the Great, from his Birth, to the 
Ascension of the Son of God. 

This apostle (who was surnamed the Great, by way of dis- 
tinction, from another of that name) was the son of Zebedee, 
and by trade a fisherman, to which he applied himself with re- 
markable assiduity, and was exercising his employment, when 
the Saviour of the world passing by the sea of Galilee, saw him 
with his brother in the ship, and called them both to be his dis- 
ciples. Nor was the call in vain; they cheerfully complied with 
it, and immediately left all to follow him; readily delivering 
themselves up to perform whatever service he should appoint 
them. 

Soon after this he was called from the station of an ordinary 
disciple to the apostolic office, and even honored with some par- 
ticular favors beyond most of the apostles, being one of the three 
whom our Lord made choice of as his companions in the more 
intimate transactions of his life, from which the rest were ex- 
cluded. Thus, with Peter, and his brother John, he attended his 
Master when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead; he 
was admitted to Christ's glorious transfiguration on the mount; 
and when the holy Jesus was to undergo his bitter agonies in the 
garden, as preparatory sufferings to his passion, James was one 
of the three taken to be a spectator of them. Nor was it the 
least instance of that particular honor our Lord conferred on 
these apostles, that at his calling them to the apostleship, he gave 
them a new name and title. Simon he called Peter, or a rock; 
and James and John, who were brothers, Boanerges, or the sons 
of thunder. 

Some think that this name was given them on account of their 
loud and bold preaching of the Gospel to the world, fearing no 
threatenings, despising all opposition, and going on thundering 
in the ears of a drowsy and sleepy world; rousing and awak- 
ening the consciences of men with the earnestness and vehe- 
mence of their preaching, which resembled thunder, as the voice, 
of God powerfully shakes the natural world, and breaks in 
pieces the cedar of Lebanon. Others think it relates to the 
doctrine they delivered, teaching the great mysteries and promul- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



493 



gating the Gospel in a more profound and lofty strain than the 
rest. 

But however this he, our hlessed Saviour, doubtless, alluded 
by this term to the furious and resolute disposition of these two 
brothers, who seem to have been of a more fiery temper than the 
rest of the apostles, of which we have this memorable instance* 
When our Lord was determined on his journey to Jerusalem, he 
sent some of his disciples before him to make preparations for 
his coming; but, on their entering a village of Samaria, they 
were rudely rejected, from the old grudge that subsisted between 
the Samaritans and Jews, and because the Saviour, by going up 
to Jerusalem, seemed to slight their place of worship on Mount 
Gerizim. This piece of rudeness and inhumanity was so highly 
resented by St. James and his brother, that they came to Jesus, 
desiring to know if he would not imitate Elias, by calling fire 
down from heaven to consume this barbarous unhospitable peo- 
ple? Thus we find the best of men are but men, and that cor- 
rupt nature will sometimes appear even in renewed minds. But 
the holy Jesus soon convinced them of their mistake, by telling 
them, that instead of destroying, he was come to save the lives 
of the children of men. 



CHAPTER II. 

The. Transactions of St. James, from the Messiah's Ascension, to 
his sealing the truth of the Gospel with his blood, 

Sophronius tells us, that after the ascension of the blessed 
Jesus, this apostle preached to the dispersed Jews: that is, to 
those converts who dispersed after the death of Stephen. The 
Spanish writers will have it, that after preaching the Gospel in 
several parts of Judea and Samaria, he visited Spain, where he 
planted Christianity, and appointed some select disciples to per- 
fect what he had begun: but if we consider the shortness of St. 
James' life, and that the apostles continued in a body at Jeru- 
salem, even after the dispersion of the other Christians, we shall 
find it difficult to allow time sufficient for so tedious and dif- 
ficult a voyage as that was in those early ages; and therefore 
it is safest to confine his ministry to Judea and the adjacent 
countries. 

Herod, who was a bigot to the Jewish religion, as well as de- 
sirous of acquiring the favor of the Jews, began a violent perse- 

57 



494 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

cution of the Christians, and his zeal animated him to pass sen- 
tence of death on St. James immediately. As he was led to the 
place of execution, the officer that guarded him to the tribunal, 
or rather his accuser, having been converted by that remarkable 
courage and constancy shown by the apostle at the time of his 
trial, repented of what he had done, came and fell down at the 
apostle's feet, and heartily begged pardon for what he had said 
against him. The holy man, after recovering from the surprise, 
tenderly embraced him. "Peace," said he, "my son, peace be 
unto thee, and pardon of thy faults." Upon which the officer 
publicly declared himself a Christian, and both were beheaded 
at the same time. Thus fell the great apostle St. James, taking 
cheerfully that cup of which he had long since told his Lord, he 
was ready to drink. 



ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 



CHAPTER I. 



The Transactions of St. John, from his Birth to the Ascension oj 
his great Lord and Master. 

Fro3i the very minute and circumstantial account this Evan- 
gelist gives of John the Baptist, he is supposed to have been one 
of his followers, and is thought to be that other disciple who, in 
the first chapter of his Gospel, is said to have been present with 
Andrew, when John declared Jesus to be "the Lamb of God," 
and thereupon to have followed him to the place of his abode. 

He was by much the youngest of the apostles, yet he was ad- 
mitted into as great a share of his Master's confidence as any 
of them. He was one of those to whom he communicated the 
most private transactions of his life: one of those whom he took 
with him when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead: 
one of those to whom he displayed a specimen of his divinity, 
in his transfiguration on the mount: one of those who were 
present at his conference with Moses and Elias, and heard that 
voice which declared him "the beloved Son of God;" and one 
of those who were companions in his solitude, most retired devo- 
tions, and bitter agonies in the garden. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



495 



These instances of particular favor, our apostle endeavored, in 
some measure, to answer by returns of particular kindness and 
constancy. For though he at first deserted his Master on his 
apprehension, yet he soon recovered himself, and came back to 
see his Saviour, confidently entered the high priest's hall, fol- 
lowed our Lord through the several particulars of his trial, and 
at last waited on him at his execution, owning him, as well as 
being owned by him, in the midst of armed soldiers, and in the 
thickest crowds of his most inveterate enemies. Here it was 
that our great Redeemer committed to his care his sorrowful 
and disconsolate mother, with his dying breath. And certainly 
the holy Jesus could not have given a more honorable testimony 
of his particular respect and kindness to St. John, than by leav- 
ing his own mother to his trust and care, and substituting him 
to supply that duty himself paid her while he resided in this vale 
of sorrow. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St. John, from the Ascension of Christ to his 

Death. 

After the ascension of the Saviour of the world, when the 
apostles made a division of the provinces among themselves, that 
of Asia fell to the share of St. John, though he did not immedi- 
ately enter upon his charge, but continued at Jerusalem till the 
death of the blessed Virgin, which might be about fifteen years 
after our Lord's ascension. Being released from the trust com- 
mitted to his care by his dying Master, he retired into Asia, and 
industriously applied himself to the propagation of Christianity, 
preaching where the Gospel had not yet been known, and con- 
firming it where it was already planted. Many churches of 
note and eminence were of his foundation, particularly those of 
Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, 
and others; but his chief place of residence was a Ephesus, 
where St. Paul had many years before founded a church, and 
constituted Timothy bishop of it. 

After spending several years at Ephesus, he was accused to 
Domitian, who had begun a persecution against the Christians, 
as an eminent assertor of atheism and impiety, and a public sub- 
verter of the religion of the empire ; so that by his command 
the proconsul sent him bound to Rome, where he met with the 
treatment that might have been expected from so barbarous a 



496 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

prince, being thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. But the 
Almighty, who reserved him for further service in the vineyard 
of his Son, restrained the heat, as he did in the fiery furnace of 
old, and delivered him from this seemingly unavoidable destruc- 
tion. And surely one would have thought that so miraculous a 
deliverance should have been sufficient to have persuaded any 
rational man, that the religion he taught was from God, and 
that he was protected from danger by the hand of Omnipotence. 
But miracles themselves were not sufficient to convince this 
cruel emperor, or abate his fury. He ordered St. John to be 
transported to an almost desolate island in the Archipelago, 
called Patmos, where he continued several years, instructing 
the poor inhabitants in the knowledge of the Christian faith; 
and here, about the end of Domitian's reign, he wrote his book 
of Revelations, exhibiting by visions and prophetical representa- 
tions, the state and condition of Christianity in the future periods 
and ages of the church. 

Upon the death of Domitian, and the succession of Narva, 
who repealed all the odious acts of his predecessor, and by 
public edicts recalled those whom the fury of Domitian had 
banished. St. John returned to Asia, and fixed his seat again 
at Ephesus; the rather because the people of that city had 
lately martyred Timothy the bishop. Here, with the assistance 
of seven other bishops, he took upon himself the government of 
the large diocese of Asia Minor, and disposed of the clergy in 
the best manner that the circumstances of those times would 
permit, spending his time in an indefatigable execution of his 
charge, traveling from east to west, to instruct the world in the 
principles of the holy religion he was sent to propagate. 

In this manner St. John continued to labor in the vineyard 
of his great Master, until death put a period to all his toils and 
sufferings; which happened in the beginning of Trajan's reign, 
in the ninety-eighth year of his age ; and, according to Eusebius, 
his remains were buried near Ephesus. 

St. John seems always to have led a single life; though some 
of the ancients tell us he was a married man. He was polished 
by no study of arts or learning; but what was wanting from 
human art, was abundantly supplied by the excellent constitu- 
tion of his mind, and that fullness of divine grace with which he 
was adorned. His humility was admirable, studiously conceal- 
ing his own honor. For in his epistles he never styles himself 
either apostle or evangelist: the title of presbyter, or elder, is 
all he assumes, and probably in regard to his age as much as 
his office. In his Gospel, when he speaks of "the disciple 
whom Jesus loved," he constantly conceals his own name, leav- 
ing the reader to discover whom he meant. 

The greatest instance of our apostle's care for the souls of 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



497 



men is in the writings he left to posterity; the first of which in 
time, though placed last in the sacred canon, is his Apocalypse, 
or Book of Revelations, which he wrote during his banishment 
at Patmos. 

Next to the Apocalypse, in order of time, are his three epis- 
tles; the first of which is catholic, calculated for all times and 
places, containing the most excellent rules for the conduct of a 
Christian life, pressing to holiness and pureness of manners, and 
not to be satisfied with a naked and empty profession of reli- 
gion; not to be led away with the crafty insinuation of seducers, 
and cautioning men against the poisonous principles and prac- 
tices of the Gnostics. The apostle here, according to his usual 
modesty, conceals his name; it being of more consequence to a 
wise man what is said, than he who says it. It appears from 
St. Augustine, that this epistle was anciently inscribed to the 
Parthians, because, in all probability, St. John preached the 
Gospel in Parthia. The other two epistles are but short, and 
directed to particular persons; the one to a lady of great qual- 
ity, the other to the charitable and hospitable Gaius, the kindest 
friend and most courteous entertainer of all indigent Christians. 

Before he undertook the task of writing the Gospel, he caused 
a general fast to be kept by all the Asiatic churches, to im- 
plore the blessing of heaven on so great and momentous an 
undertaking. When this was done, he set about the work, and 
completed it in so excellent and sublime a manner, that the 
ancients generally compared him to an eagle soaring aloft 
among the clouds, whither the weak eye of man was not able to 
follow him. "Among all the evangelical writers (says St. Ba- 
sil) none are like St. John, the son of thunder, for the sublimity 
of his speech, and the heighth of his discourses, which are be- 
yond any man's capacity fully to reach and comprehend." — 
"St. John as a true son of thunder, (says Epiphanius,) by a 
loftiness of speech peculiar to himself, acquaints us, as it were, 
out of the clouds and dark recesses of wisdom, with the divine 
doctrine of the Son of God." 

Such is the character given of the writings of this great apos- 
tle and evangelist, who was honored with the endearing title of 
being the beloved disciple of the Son of God: a writer so pro- 
found as to deserve by Way of eminence, the character of " St 
John the Divine." 



498 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. PHILIP. 

CHAPTER L 

The Transactions of St. Philip, from his Birth to his being called 
to the Apostleship. 

This apostle was a native of Bethsaida, "the city of Andrew 
and Peter." He had the honor of being first called to be a dis- 
ciple of the great Messiah, which happened in the following 
manner: Our blessed Saviour, soon after his return from the 
wilderness, where he had been tempted by the devil, met with 
Andrew, and his brother Peter, and after some discourse parted 
from them. The next day, as he was passing through Galilee, 
he found Philip, whom he presently commanded to follow him, 
the constant form he made use of in calling his disciples, and 
those that inseparably attended him. So that the prerogative 
of being first called, evidently belongs to St. Philip, he being the 
first of our Lord's disciples; for though Andrew and St. John 
were the first that came and conversed with the Saviour of the 
world, yet they immediately returned to their occupation, and 
were not called till a whole year after. 

It cannot be doubted, that notwithstanding St. Philip was a 
native of Galilee, yet he was excellently skilled in the law and 
the prophets. Metaphrastes assures us, that he had, from his 
childhood, been excellently educated; that he frequently read 
over the books of Moses, and attentively considered the prophe- 
cies relating to the Messiah. 

Nor was our apostle idle after the honor he had received of 
being called to attend the Saviour of the world; he immediately 
imparted the glad tidings of the Messiah's appearance to his 
brother Nathaniel, and conducted him to Jesus. 

After being called to the apostleship we have very little re- 
cord of him by the Evangelists. It was, however, to him that 
our Saviour proposed the question, where they should find bread 
sufficient to satisfy the hunger of so great a multitude. Philip 
answered, that it was not easy to procure so great a quantity; 
not considering that it was equally easy for Almighty power to 
feed double the number, when it should be his divine will. It 
was also to the same apostle that the Gentile proselytes, who 
came up to worship at Jerusalem, applied, when they were de- 
sirous to see the Saviour of the world. And it was with him 
our Lord had the discourse a little before the paschal supper. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



499 



The compassionate Jesus had been fortifying their minds with 
proper considerations against his departure from them, and had 
told them that he was going to prepare for them a place in the 
mansions of the heavenly Canaan; that he was 44 the way, the 
truth and the life;" and that no man could come to the Father 
but by him. 

Philip, not thoroughly understanding the force of his Mas- 
ter's reasonings, begged of him, that he would "show them the 
Father." 

Our blessed Lord gently reproved his ignorance, that after 
attending so long to his instructions, he should not know that he 
was the image of his Father, the express character of his infinite 
wisdom, power, and goodness, appearing in him; that he said 
and did nothing but by his Father's appointment; which, if they 
did not believe, his miracles were a sufficient evidence: that 
such demands were, therefore, unnecessary and impertinent; 
and that it was an indication of great weakness in him, after 
three year's education under his discipline and instruction, to 
appear so ignorant with regard to these particulars. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St* Philip, to the time of his Martyrdom, 

The ancients tell us, that in the distribution made by the 
apostles of the several regions of the world, the Upper Asia fell 
to his share, where he labored with an indefatigable diligence 
and industry. By the constancy and power of his preaching, 
and the efficacy of his miracles, he gained numerous converts, 
whom he baptized into the Christian faith, curing at once their 
bodies of infirmities and distempers, and their souls of errors 
and idolatry. He continued with them a considerable time 
in settling churches, and appointing them guides and ministers 
of religion. 

After several years successfully exercising his apostolical 
office in all those parts, he came at last to Hiepolis, in Phrygia, 
a city remarkably rich and populous, but at the same time over- 
run with the most enormous idolatry. 

St. Philip, being grieved to see the people so wretchedly en- 
slaved by error and superstition, continually offered his addres- 
ses to heaven, till, by his prayers, and often calling on the 
name of Christ, he procured the death, or at least the vanishing, 
of an enormous serpent, to which they paid adoration. 



500 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Having thus demolished their deity, he demonstrated to them 
how ridiculous and unjust it was for them to paj r divine honors 
to such odious creatures: showed them that God alone was to 
be worshipped as the great parent of all the world, who in the 
beginning made man after his glorious image, and when fallen 
from that innocent and happy state, sent his own Son into the 
world to redeem him: that in order to perform this glorious 
work, he died on the cross, and rose again from the dead, and 
at the end of the world will come again to raise all the sons of 
men from the chambers of the dust, and sentence them to ever- 
lasting rewards or punishments. This discourse roused them 
from their lethargy; they were ashamed of their late idolatry, 
and great numbers embraced the doctrines of the Gospel. 

This provoked the great enemy of mankind, and he had re- 
course to his old methods, cruelty and persecution. The magis- 
trates of the city seized the apostle, and having thrown him into 
prison, caused him to be scourged. When this preparatory 
cruelty was over, he was led to execution, and, being bound, 
was hanged against a pillar; or, according to others, crucified. 
The apostle being dead, his body was taken down by St. Bar- 
tholomew, his fellow laborer in the Gospel, and Mariamne, St. 
Philip's sister, the constant companion of his travels, and de- 
cently buried ; after which, they confirmed the people in the 
faith of Christ, and departed from them. 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Transactions of St. Bartholomew, from hi? Birth to the Ascension 
of his great Master. 

This apostle is mentioned amongst the twelve immediate dis- 
ciples of our Lord under the appellation of Bartholomew, though 
it is evident, from divers passages of Scripture, that he was also 
called Nathaniel: we shall therefore, in our account of his life, 
consider the names of Nathaniel and Bartholomew as belonging 
to one and the same person. • 

With regard to his descent and family, some are of opinion 
that he was a Syrian, and that he was descended from the 
Ptolemies of Egypt. But it is plain, from the evangelical his- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



501 



tory, that he was a Galilean; St. John having expressly told us 
that Nathaniel was of Cana, in Galilee. 

The Scripture is silent with regard to his trade and manner of 
life, though, from some circumstances, there is room to imagine 
that he was a fisherman. He was at the first coming to Christ, 
conducted by Philip, who told him they had now found the long 
expected Messiah, so often foretold by Moses, and the prophets, 
"Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And when he object- 
ed that the Messiah could not be born at Nazareth, Philip de- 
sired him to come and satisfy himself that he was the Messiah. 

At his approach, our blessed Saviour saluted him with this 
honorable appellation, that he was an "Israelite indeed, in whom 
there was no guile;" not in an absolute, but restricted sense; 
for perfection cannot be attached to human nature, but in the 
character of the blessed Jesus, of whom it is said, with peculiar 
propriety, that he was "holy, harmless, un defiled, and separate 
from sinners;" also, that he "knew no sin, neither was guile," 
that is, fraud, or deception, found in his tongue. Our Saviour 
knew that Bartholomew's doubt of his Messiahship arose from 
Philip's announcing him in the character of Jesus of Nazareth, 
a place stigmatized for the vices of its inhabitants; which on a 
similar occasion caused an interrogatory, which accords with 
Bartholomew's opinion : Can any good come out of Nazareth? 
Our Saviour therefore commends his frankness, by denomina- 
ting him an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. In 
another sense, he appeared to "be a true Israelite,"" or one that 
"waited for redemption in Israel," which, from the times men- 
tioned in the Scripture predictions, he knew to be near at hand. 

He was greatly surprised at our Lord's salutations, wondering 
how he could know him at first sight, as imagining he had never 
before seen his face. But he was answered, that he had seen 
him while he was yet under the fig-tree, even before Philip 
called him. Convinced by this instance of our Lord's divinity, 
he presently made his confession, that he was now sure that 
Jesus was the promised Messiah, that Son of God whom he had 
appointed to govern the church. Our blessed Saviour told him, 
that if from this instance he could believe him to be the Messiah, 
he should have far greater arguments to confirm his faith; for 
that he should hereafter behold the heavens opened to receive 
him, and the angels visibly appearing joyful at his entrance into 
the heavenly Canaan. 



! 



58 



502 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St. Bartholomew., from the Ascension of Christ 
to his Martyrdom. 

Our apostle having his peculiar spot allotted him for the pro- 
mulgation of the Gospel of his blessed Master, who had now as- 
cended into heaven, and dispensed his Holy Spirit to fit and 
qualify his disciples for the important work, visited different parts 
of the world to preach the Gospel, and penetrated as far as the 
Hither India. 

After spending considerable time in India, and the eastern ex- 
tremities of Asia, he returned to the northern and western parts, 
and we find him at Hierpolis, in Phrygia, laboring in concert 
with St. Philip to plant Christianity in those parts; and to con- 
vince the blind idolaters of the evil of their ways, and direct 
them in the paths that lead to eternal salvation. This enraged 
the bigoted magistrates, and he was, together with St. Philip, 
designed for martyrdom, and in order to this, fastened to a cross; 
but their consciences pricking. them for a time, they took St. Bar- 
tholomew down from the cross and set him at liberty. 

From hence he retired to Lycaonia, and St. Chrysostom assures 
us that he instructed and trained up the inhabitants in the Chris- 
tian discipline. His last remove was to Albanople, in Great 
Armenia, a place miserably overrun with idolatry, from which 
he labored to reclaim the people. But his endeavors to "turn 
them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto 
God," were so far from having the desired effect, that it pro- 
voked the magistrates, who prevailed on the governor to put him 
to death, which he cheerfully underwent, sealing the truth of the 
doctrine he had preached, with his blood. 



ST. MATTHEW. 
CHAPTER I. 

The Transactions of St. Matthew, from his Birth to the Ascension 

of Christ. 

St. Matthew, called also Levi, though a Roman officer, was 
a true Hebrew, and probably a Galilean. His trade was that 
of a publican or tax-gatherer to the Romans, an office detested 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



503 



by the generality of the Jews, on two accounts; first, because 
having formed the custom of the Romans, they used every method 
of oppression to pay their rents to the Romans; secondly, be- 
cause they demanded tribute of the Jews, who considered them- 
selves as a free people, having received that privilege from God 
himself. And hence they had a common proverb among them, 
" Take not a wife out of that family in which there is a publican, 
for they are all publicans." That is, they are all thieves, rob- 
bers, and notorious sinners. And to this proverbial custom our 
blessed Saviour alludes, when speaking of an hardened sinner, 
on whom neither private reproofs, nor the public censures and 
admonitions of the church, can prevail. " Let him be to thee as 
an heathen man and a publican." 

Our blessed Saviour having cured a person long afflicted with 
the palsy, retired out of Capernaum, to walk by the sea-side, 
where he taught the people that flocked after him. 

Here he saw Matthew sitting in his office, and called him to 
follow him. The man was rich, had a large and profitable em- 
ployment, was a wise and prudent person, and doubtless under- 
stood what would be his loss to comply with the call of Jesus, 
He was not ignorant that he must exchange wealth for poverty, 
a custom-house for a prison, and rich and powerful masters for a 
naked and despised Saviour. But he overlooked all those con- 
siderations, left all his interest and relations, to become our Lord's 
disciple, and to embrace a more spiritual way of life. 

The Pharisees, who sought all opportunities of raising objec- 
tions against the doctrines of the blessed Jesus, took this oppor- 
tunity of suggesting to his disciples, that it was highly unbecom- 
ing so pure and holy a person as their Master appeared to be, to 
converse so familiarly with the worst of men ; with publicans and 
sinners, persons infamous to a proverb. But he presently replied 
to them, that these were the sick, and therefore needed the phy- 
sician; that his company was of most consequence where the 
souls of men most required it; that God himself preferred works 
of mercy and charity, especially in doing good to the souls of 
men, infinitely above all ritual observances; and that the princi- 
pal design of his coming into the world was not to call the right- 
eous, or those who, like themselves, vainly pretend to be so, but 
sinners, humble, self-convinced sinners to repentance. 

After St. Matthew's election to the apostleship, he continued 
with the rest till the ascension of his great and beloved Master; 
but the evangelical writers have recorded nothing particular con- 
cerning him during that period. 



504 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES, 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St. Matthew from the Ascension of Christ to 
his Martyrdom. 

After our blessed Saviour's ascension into heaven, St. Mat- 
thew, for the first eight years at least, preached in different 
parts of Judea; but afterwards he left the country of Pales- 
tine, to convert the Gentile world. Before his departure he 
was entreated by the Jewish converts to write the history of the 
life and actions of the blessed Jesus, and leave it among them 
as a standing monument of what he had so often delivered to 
them in his sermons. This he readily complied with, as we 
shall more particularly mention in giving an account of his 
Gospel. 

After his leaving Judea, he traveled into several parts, espe- 
cially Ethiopia, but the particular places he visited are not known 
with any certainty. 

HWever, after laboring indefatigably in the vineyard of his 
Master, he suffered martyrdom at a city of Ethiopia, called 
Naddabar; but by what kind of death is not absolutely known, 
though the general opinion is, that he was slain with an hal- 
bert. 

St. Matthew was a remarkable instance of the power of reli- 
gion, in bringing men to a better temper of mind. If we reflect 
upon his circumstances while he continued a stranger to the great 
Redeemer of mankind, we shall find that the love of the world 
had possessed his heart. But notwithstanding this, no sooner did 
Christ call him, than he abandoned without the least scruple or 
hesitation, all his riches; nay, he not only renounced his lucra- 
tive trade, but ran the greatest hazard of displeasing the masters 
who employed him, for quitting their service without giving 
them the least notice, and leaving his accounts in confusion. 
Had our blessed Saviour appeared as a secular prince, clothed 
with temporal power and authority, it would have been no won- 
der for him to have gone over to his service; but when he ap- 
peared under all the circumstances of meanness and disgrace, 
when he seems to promise his followers nothing but misery and 
sufferings in this life, and to propose no other rewards than the 
invisible encouragements of another world, his change appears 
truly wonderful and surprising; but divine grace can subdue all 
opposition. 

His contempt of the world appeared in his exemplary temper- 
ance and abstemiousness from all delights and pleasures; nay 
even from the ordinary coveniences and accommodations of it. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



505 



He was mean and modest in his own opinion, always preferring 
others to himself; for whereas the other Evangelists, in describing 
the apostles by pairs, constantly place him before St. Thomas, 
he modestly places him before himself. The rest of the Evan- 
gelists are careful to mention the honor of his apostleship, but 
speak of his former sordid, dishonest, and disgraceful course of 
life, only under the name of Levi; while he himself sets it down 
with all the circumstances, under his own proper and common 
name. A conduct which at once commends the prudence and 
candor of the apostle, and suggests to us this useful reflection, 
that the greatest sinners are not excluded from divine grace; nor 
can any, if penitent, have just reason to despair, when publicans 
and sinners find mercy at the throne of grace. 

The last thing we shall remark in the life of this apostle, is 
his Gospel, written at the entreaty of the Jewish converts, while 
he abode in Palestine; but at what time is uncertain; some will 
have it to have been written eight, some fifteen, and some thirty 
years, after our Lord's ascension. It was originally written in 
Hebrew, but soon after translated into Greek by one of the dis- 
ciples. 

After the Greek translation was admitted, the Hebrew copy 
was chiefly owned and used by the Nazarei, a middle sect be- 
tween Jews and Christians ; with the former, they adhered to the 
rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law, and with the latter they 
believed in Christ, and embraced his religion; and hence this 
Gospel has been styled " The Gospel according to the Hebrews," 
and " The Gospel of the Nazarenes." 



ST. THOMAS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Transactions of St. Thomas, from his Birth to the Ascension 
of our blessed Saviour. 

Evangelical history is entirely silent with regard either to 
the country or kindred of Thomas. It is, however, certain that 
he was a Jew, and in all probability a Galilean. 

He was, together like the rest, called to the apostleship; and, 
not long after, gave an eminent instance of his being ready to 



506 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



undergo the most melancholy fate that might attend him. For 
when the rest of the apostles dissuaded their Master from going 
into Judea, at the time of Lazarus' death, because the Jews 
lately endeavored to stone him, Thomas desired them not to hin- 
der his journey thither, though it might cost them all their lives. 
"Let us go," said he, "that we may die with him:" concluding 
that, instead of Lazarus being raised from the dead, they should 
all, like him, be placed in the chambers of the dust. 

When the holy Jesus, a little before his sufferings, had been 
speaking to them of the joys of heaven, and had told them that 
he was going to prepare mansions for them, that they might 
follow him, and that they knew both the place whither he was 
going, and the way thither; our apostle replied, that they knew 
not whither he was going, much less the way that would lead 
them thither. To which our Lord returned this short but satis- 
factory answer, " I am the way ;" I am the person whom the 
Father has sent into the world to show mankind the paths that 
lead to eternal life, and therefore you cannot miss the way, if you 
follow my example. 

After the disciples had seen their great Master expire on the 
cross, their minds were distracted by hopes and fears concerning 
his resurrection, about which they were not then fully satisfied; 
which engaged him the sooner to hasten his appearance, that 
by the sensible manifestations of himself, he might put the mat- 
ter beyond all possibility of dispute. Accordingly, the very day 
in which he arose from the dead, he came into the house where 
they were assembled, while the doors about them were close 
shut, and gave them sufficient assurance that he was risen from 
the dead. 

At this meeting Thomas was absent, having probably never 
joined their company since their dispersion in the garden, where 
every one's fears prompted him to consult his own safety. At 
his return they told him that the Lord had appeared to them; but 
he obstinately refused to give credit to what they said, or believe 
that it was really he, presuming it rather a spectre or apparition, 
unless he might see the very print of the nails, and feel the 
wounds in his hands and side. 

But our compassionate Saviour would not take the least no- 
tice of his perverse obstinacy, but on that day seven-night came 
again to them, as they were solemnly met at their 'devotions, 
and calling to Thomas, bade him look upon his hands, put his 
fingers into the prints of the nails, and thrust his hand into his 
side, to satisfy his faith by a demonstration from the senses. 
Thomas was soon convinced of his error and obstinacy, con- 
fessing that he now acknowledged him to be his Lord and 
Master, saying, "My Lord and my God." Our Lord answered, 
that it was happy for him that he believed the testimony of his 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 507 

own senses; but that it would have been more commendable in 
him to have believed without seeing, because it was foretold that 
the Son of God should burst the chains of death, and rise again 
from the dead. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Transactions of St. Thomas, from the Ascension of the Son 
of God to his Death. 

Our great Redeemer having, according to promise before his 
ascension, poured an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Ghost 
upon the disciples, to qualify them for the great work of preach- 
ing the Gospel, St. Thomas as well as the rest, preached the 
Gospel in several parts of Judea; and after the dispersion of 
the Christian church in Jerusalem, repaired into Parthia, the 
province assigned him for his ministry. After which, as Sem- 
pronius and others inform us, he preached the Gospel to the 
Medes, Persians, Carmanians, Hyrcani, Bractarians, and the 
neighboring nations. During his preaching in Persia, he is said 
to have met with the Magi, or wise men, who had taken that 
long journey at our Saviour's birth to worship him, whom he 
baptized, and took with him as his companions and assistants in 
propagating the Gospel. 

Leaving Persia, he traveled into Ethiopia, preaching the 
glad tidings of the Gospel, healing their sick, and working other 
miracles, to prove he had his commission from on high. And 
after traveling through these countries, he entered India. 

When the Portuguese first visited these countries after their 
discovery of a passage by the Cape of Good Hope, they re- 
ceived the following particulars, partly from constant and un- 
controverted traditions preserved by the Christians in those 
parts; namely, that St. Thomas came first to Socotora, an 
island in the Arabian Sea, and then to Cranganor where hav- 
ing converted many from the error of their ways, he traveled 
farther into the east; and having successfully preached the 
Gospel, returned back to the kingdom of Coromandel, where 
at Maliapour, the metropolis of that kingdom, not far from the 
mouth of the Ganges, he began to erect a place for divine wor- 
ship, till prohibited by the idolatrous priests, and Sagamo, 
prince of that country. But after performing several miracles, 
the work was suffered to proceed, and Sagamo himself embra- 



508 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ced the Christian faith, whose example was soon followed by 
great numbers of his friends and subjects. 

This remarkable success alarmed the Brachmans, who plainly 
perceived that their religion would soon be extirpated, unless 
some method could be found of putting a stop to the progress of 
Christianity; and therefore resolved to. put the apostle to death. 
At a small distance from the city was a tomb, whither St. Thomas 
often retired for private devotions. Hither the Brachmans, and 
their armed followers pursued him, and while he was at prayer, 
they first shot at him with a shower of darts, after which one of 
the priests ran him through with a lance. 

His body wis taken up by his disciples, and buried in the 
church he had lately erected, and which was afterwards improved 
into a fabric of great magnificence. 

St. Chrysostom says, that St. Thomas, who at first was the 
weakest and most incredulous of all the apostles, became, through 
Christ's condescension to satisfy his scruples, and the power of 
the divine grace, the most active and invincible of them all; trav- 
eling over most parts of the world, and living without fear in the 
midst of barbarous nations, through the efficacy of that almighty 
power which can make the weakest ve*ssels to perform acts of 
the greatest difficulty and moment. 



ST. JAMES THE LESS. 



It has been doubted by some, whether this was the same with 
that St. James who was afterwards bishop of Jerusalem, two of 
this name being mentioned in the sacred writings, namely, St. 
James the Great, and St. James the Less, both apostles. The 
ancients mention a third, surnamed the Just, which they will 
have to be distinct from the former, and bishop of Jerusalem. 
But this opinion is built on a sandy foundation, for nothing is 
plainer than that St. James the apostle (whom St. Paul calls 
"our Lord's brother," and reckons, with Peter and John, one 
of the pillars of the church) was the same who presided among 
the apostles, doubtless by virtue of his episcopal office, and de- 
termined the causes in the synod of Jerusalem. It is reasonable 
to think that he was the son of Joseph, afterwards the husband 
of Mary, by his first wife, whom St. Jerome styles Escha, and 
adds, that she was the daughter of Aggi, brother to Zacharias, 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 509 

the father of John the Baptist. Hence he was reputed our 
Lord's brother. We find indeed several mentioned as the breth- 
ren of our Saviour in the evangelical history; but in what sense, 
was greatly controverted by the ancients. St. Jerome, St. 
Chrysostom, and some others, will have them to be called, from 
their being the sons of Mary, cousin-german, or, according to the 
Hebrew idiom, sister to the virgin Mary. But Eusebius, Epipha- 
nius, and many others, tell us, they were the children of Joseph 
by a former wife. And this seems to be more natural, and best 
agrees with what the Evangelists say of them, when they enume- 
rate the question of the Jews: evidently implying their astonish- 
ment, that a person descended from, and related to, not the opu- 
lent and the mighty, but those of a humble sphere, as his parents 
and brethren were known to be, should possess such extraordi- 
nary endowments. The Jews looked for a Messiah invested 
with all the pomp and splendor of an earthly potentate; well 
then might they ask, when they beheld the display of his power, 
44 Whence then hath this man these things?" 

After the resurrection, he was honored with the particular ap- 
pearance of our Lord to him, which, though passed over in 
silence by the Evangelists, is recorded by St. Paul. 

Some time after this appearance, he was chosen bishop of Je- 
rusalem, and preferred before all the rest for his near relation to 
Christ; for the same reason we find Simon chosen to be his im- 
mediate successor in that see, because, after St. James, he was 
our Lord's next kinsman: a consideration that made Peter and 
the two sons of Zebedee, though they had been peculiarly hon- 
ored by our Saviour, not to contend for this high and honorable 
station, but freely chose James bishop of Jerusalem. 

When St. Paul came to Jerusalem after his conversion, he 
applied to St. James, and was honored by him with 44 the right- 
hand of fellowship." And it was to St. James that Peter sent 
the news of his miraculous deliverance out of prison. 44 Go," 
said he, "shew these things unto James and to the brethren;" 
that is, to the whole church, especially to St. James the pastor 
of it. 

He performed every part of his duty with all possible care and 
industry, omitting no particular necessary to be observed by a 
diligent and faithful guide of souls, strengthening the weak, in- 
structing the ignorant, reducing the erroneous, reproving the 
obstinate: and by the constancy of his sermons, conquering the 
stubbornness of that perverse and refractory generation he had 
to deal with, many of the nobler and better sort being persuaded 
to embrace the Christain faith. 

But a person so careful, so successful in his charge, could not 
fail of exciting the spite and malice of his enemies; a sort of 
men to whom the apostle has given too true a character, that 

59 



510 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



"they please not God, and are contrary to all men." They 
were vexed to see St. Paul had escaped their hands, by appeal- 
ing unto Caesar; and therefore turned their fury against St. 
James: but being unable to effect their design under the gov- 
ernment of Festus, they determined to attempt it under the pro- 
curatorship of Albinus his successor, Ananus the younger, of the 
sect of the Sadducees, being high priest. 

In order to this a council was summoned, and the apostle, 
with others arraigned and condemned as violators of the law. 
But that the action might appear more plausible and popular, 
the Scribes and Pharisees, masters in the art of dissimulation, 
endeavored to ensnare him; and, at their first coming, told 
him that they had all placed the greatest confidence in him: 
that. the whole nation as well as they, gave him the title of a just 
man, and one that was no respecter of persons; that they there- 
fore desired that he would correct the error and false opinion the 
people had conceived of Jesus, whom they considered as the 
Messiah, and take this opportunity of the universal confluence to 
the paschal solemnity to set them right in their opinions in this 
particular, and would go with them to the top of the temple, 
where he might be seen and heard by all. 

The apostle readily consented, and being advantageously 
placed on a pinnacle of the temple, they addressed him in the fol- 
lowing manner; "Tell us, for we have all the reason in the 
world to believe, that the people are thus generally led away, 
with the doctrine of Jesus who was crucified; tell us, what is the 
instruction of the crucified Jesus?" To which the apostle an- 
swered, with an audible voice, "Why do ye inquire of Jesus 
the Son of Man? He sits in heaven, at the right hand of the 
Majesty on high, and will come again in the clouds of heaven." 
The people below hearing this, glorified the blessed Jes\is, and 
openly proclaimed, "Hosanna to the Son of David." 

The Scribes and Pharisees now perceived that they had acted 
foolishly; that instead of altering, he had confirmed the peo- 
ple in their belief; and that there was no way left but to dis- 
patch him immediately, in order to warn others by his suffer- 
ings, not to believe in Jesus of Nazareth. Accordingly they 
suddenly cried out, That James himself was seduced, and be- 
come an impostor; and they immediately threw him from the 
pinnacle on which he stood, into the court below; but not being 
killed on the spot, he recovered himself so far as to rise on his 
knees, and pray fervently to heaven for his murderers. But 
malice is too diabolical to be pacified with kindness, or sat- 
isfied with cruelty. Accordingly his enemies, vexed that they 
had not fully accomplished their work, poured a shower of stones 
upon him, while he was imploring their forgiveness at the 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



511 



throne of grace; and one of them dissatisfied with this cruel 
treatment, put an end to his misery with a fuller's club. 

Thus did this great and good man finish his course, in the 
ninety-sixth year of his age, and about twenty-four years after 
our blessed Saviour's ascension into heaven. His death was la- 
mented by all good men, even by the sober and just persona 
among the Jews themselves, as Josephus himself confesses. 

He was a man of exemplary piety and devotion, educated un- 
der the strictest rules and institutions of religion. Prayer was 
his constant business and delight; he seems as it were to have 
lived upon it, and continually to have had his conversation in 
heaven; and he who has told us, "that the prayer of a right- 
eous man availeth much," found it so by his own experience, 
heaven lending a more immediate ear to his petitions; so that in 
a time of remarkable drought, on his praying for rain, the clouds 
melted into fruitful showers. 

Nor was his charity towards men, less than his piety towards 
God; he did good to all, watched over the souls of men, and 
studied to advance their eternal welfare. He was of a remark- 
ably meek and humble temper, honoring what was excellent in 
others, and concealing what was valuable in himself. Neither 
the eminence of his relation to the blessed Jesus, nor the dignity 
of the place he so worthily filled, could induce him to enter- 
tain lofty thoughts of himself above the rest of his brethren; on 
the contrary, he strove to conceal whatever might place him in 
a higher rank than the other disciples of the Lord of glory. 
Though he was a relative to the Redeemer of mankind, he styles 
himself only "the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ," not so 
much as mentioning his being an apostle. 



ST. SIMON THE ZEALOT. 



St. Simon, in the catalogue of the apostles, is styled "Si- 
mon the Canaanite," whence some conjecture he was born in 
Cana of Galilee, and others will have him to have been the 
bridegroom mentioned by St. John, at whose marriage our bles- 
sed Saviour turned the water into wine. But this word has no 
relation to his country, or the place of his nativity, being deri- 
ved from the Hebrew word "kana," which signifies "zeal," and 
denotes a warm and sprightly temper. What some of the Evan- 



512 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



gelists therefore call "Canaanite," others, rendering the Hebrew 
by the Greek word, style "Zealot:" not from his great zeal, his 
ardent affection to his Master, and his desire of advancing his 
religion in the world, but from his warm, active temper, and 
zealous forwardness in some particular sect of religion before 
his coming to our Saviour. 

In order to understand this the better, it will be necessary to 
observe, that as there were several sects and parties among the 
Jews, so there was one, either a distinct sect, or at least a branch 
of the Pharisees, called the sect of the Zealots. This sect of the 
zealots took upon them to execute punishments in extraordinary 
cases; and that not only by the connivance, but with the per- 
mission both of the rulers and people, till in process of time, 
their zeal degenerated into all kinds of licentiousness and wild 
extravagance; and they not only became the pests of the com- 
monwealth at home, but opened the door for the Romans to 
break in upon them, to their final and irrevocable ruin. They 
were continually prompting the people to throw off the Roman 
yoke, and assert their natural liberty, taking care, when they 
had thrown all things into confusion, to make their own advan- 
tage of the tumult. Josephus gives a large account of them, 
and every where bewails them as the great plague of the 
nation. 

Many attempts were made, especially by Annas the high 
priest, to reduce them to order, and oblige them to observe the 
rules of sobriety: but all were in vain. They continued their 
violent proceedings, and joining with the Idumeans, committed 
every kind of outrage. They broke into the sanctuary, slew 
the priests themselves before the altar, and filled the streets of 
Jerusalem with tumults, rapine, and blood. Nay, when Jerusa- 
lem was closely besieged by the Roman army, they continued 
their detestable proceedings, creating fresh tumults and factions, 
and were indeed the principal cause of the ill success of the 
Jews in that fatal war. 

This is a true account of the sect of the Zealots; though, 
whatever St. Simon was before, we have no reason to suspect, 
but after his conversion he was very zealous for the honor of his 
Master, and considered all those who were enemies to Christ as 
enemies to himself, however near they might be to him in any 
natural relation. And as he was very exact in all the practical 
duties of the Christian religion, so he showed a very serious and 
pious indignation towards those who professed religion, and a 
faith in Christ with their mouths, but dishonored their sacred 
profession, by their irregular and vicious lives, as some of the 
first professing Christians really did. 

St. Simon continued in communion with the rest of the apos- 
tles and disciples at. Jerusalem; and at the feast of Pentecost 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



513 



received the same miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost; so that as 
he was qualified with the rest of his brethren for the apostolical 
office, in propagating the Gospel of the Son of God, we cannot 
doubt of his exercising his gifts with the same zeal and fidelity, 
though in what part of the world is uncertain. Some say he 
went into Egypt, Cyrene, and Africa, preaching the Gospel to 
the inhabitants of those remote and barbarous countries. And 
others add, that after he had passed through those burning 
wastes, he took ship, and visited the frozen regions of the north, 
preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of the western parts, 
and* even to Britain: where having converted great multitudes 
and sustained the greatest hardships and persecutions, he was at 
last crucified, and buried in some part of Great Britain, but the 
place where, is unknown. 



ST. j u D E. 



This apostle is mentioned by three several names, in the evan- 
gelical history, namely, Jude or Judas, Thaddeus and Lebbeus. 

He was brother to St. James the Less, afterwards bishop of 
Jerusalem, being the son of Joseph the reputed father of Christ, 
by a former wife. It is not known when or by what means he 
became a disciple of our blessed Saviour, nothing being said of 
him, till we find him in the catalogue of the twelve apostles; 
nor afterwards, till Christ's last supper, when discoursing with 
them about his departure, and comforting them with a promise, 
that he would return to them again, (meaning after his resur- 
rection,) and that the "world should see him no more, though 
they should see him," our apostle said to his Master, "Lord, 
how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the 
world?" 

Paulinus tells us that the province which fell to the share of 
St. Jude, in the apostolic division of the provinces, was Lybia; 
but he does not tell us whether it was the Cyrenian Lybia, 
which is thought to have received the Gospel from St. Mark, or 
the more southern parts of Africa. But however that be, in his 
first setting out to preach the Gospel, he traveled up and down 
Judea and Galilee; then through Samaria unto Idumea, and to 
the cities of Arabia and the neighboring countries, and after- 



514 



iJVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



wards to Syria and Mesopotamia. Nicephorus adds, that he 
came at last to Edessa, where Abagarus governed, and where 
Thaddeus, one of the seventy, had already sown the seeds of the 
Gospel. Here he perfected what the other had begun; and 
having by his sermons and miracles established the religion of 
Jesus, he died in peace; but others say that he was slain at 
Berytus, and honorably buried there. The writers of the Latin 
Church are unanimous in declaring that he traveled into Persia, 
where, after great success in his apostolical ministry for many 
years, he was at last, for his freely and openly reproving the 
superstitious rites and customs of the Magi, cruelly put to death. 

St. Jude left only one epistle, which is placed the last of those 
seven, styled catholic, in the sacred canon. It hath no particu- 
lar inscription as the other six have, but it is thought to have 
been primarily intended for the Christian Jews, in their several 
dispersions, as St. Peter's epistles were. In it he tells them 
"that he at first intended to write to them in general of the 
common salvation, and establish and confirm them in it; but 
seeing the doctrine of Christ attacked on every side by heretics, 
he conceived it more necessary to spend his time in exhorting 
them to fight manfully in defence of the faith once delivered to 
the saints, and oppose the false teachers who labored so indefa- 
tigably to corrupt it." 

It was some time before this epistle was generally received in 
the church. The author, indeed, like St. James, St. John, and 
sometimes St. Paul himself, does not call himself an apostle, 
styling himself only " the servant of Christ." But he has added 
what is equivalent, "Jude the brother of James," a character 
that can belong to no one but our apostle. And surely the 
humility of a follower of Jesus should be no objection against 
his writings. 



ST. MATTHIAS. 



As Matthias was not an apostle of the first election, immedi- 
ately called and chosen of the Son of God himself, it cannot be 
expected that any account of him can be found in the evangel- 
ical history. He was one of our Lord's disciples, probably one 
of the seventy; he had attended on him the whole time of his 
public ministry, and after his death was elected into the apostle- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



515 



ship, to supply the place of Judas, who, after betraying his great 
Lord and Master, laid violent hands on himself. 

The defection of Judas having made a vacancy in the apos- 
tolic college, the first thing they did, after their return from 
Mount Olivet, when their great Master ascended to the throne 
of his glory, was to fill up this vacancy with a proper person. 

Accordingly, two persons were proposed, Joseph, called Bar- 
sabas, and Matthias, both duly qualified for the important office. 
The method of election was by lots, a way common both among 
the Jews and Gentiles for determining doubtful and difficult 
cases, especially in choosing judges or magistrates. And this 
course seems to have been taken by the apostle, because the 
Holy Ghost was not yet given, by whose immediate dictates 
and inspirations they were afterwards chiefly guided. The 
prayer being ended, the lots were drawn, by which it appeared 
that Matthias was the person, and he was accordingly numbered 
among the twelve apostles. 

Not long after this election, the promised powers of the Holy 
Ghost were conferred upon the apostles, to qualify them for that 
great and difficult employment upon which they were sent, 
namely, the establishing the holy religion of the Son of God 
among the children of men. 

St. Matthias spent the first year of his ministry in Judea, 
where he reaped a very considerable harvest of souls, and then 
traveled into different parts of the world, to publish the glad 
tidings of salvation to a people who had never before heard 
of a Saviour; but the particular parts he visited are not certain- 
ly known. 

It is uncertain by what kind of death he left the regions of 
mortality, and sealed the truth of the Gospel he had so assidu- 
ously preached, with his blood. Dorotheus says, he finished his 
course at Sebastople, and was buried there, near the temple of 
the sun. An ancient Martyrology reports him to have been 
seized by the Jews, and as a blasphemer to have been stoned 
and then beheaded. But the Greek offices, supported herein by 
several ancient breviaries, tell us that he was crucified. 



ST. MARK. 



St. Mark was descended from Jewish parents, and of the tribe 
of Levi. Nor was it uncommon among the Jews to change their 



516 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



names on some remarkable revolution or accident of life, or 
when they intended to travel into any of the European provin- 
ces of the Roman empire. 

The ancients generally considered him as one of the seventy 
disciples; and Epiphanus expressly tells us, that he was one of 
those who, taking exception at our Lord's discourse of " eating 
his ilesh and drinking his blood, went back and walked no more 
with him." But there appears no manner of foundation for 
these opinions, nor likewise for that of Nicephorus, who will 
have him to be the son of St. Peters sister. 

Eusebius tells us, that St. Mark was sent into Egypt by St. 
Peter to preach the Gospel, and accordingly planted a ofcurch 
in Alexandria, the metropolis of it; and his success was so very 
remarkable, that he converted multitudes both of men and 
women; persuading them not only to embrace the Christian re- 
ligion, but also a life of more than ordinary strictness. 

St. Mark did not confine himself to Alexandria, and the orien- 
tal parts of Egypt, but removed westward to Lybia, passing 
through the countries of Marmacia, Pentapolis, and others adja- 
cent, where, though the people were both barbarous in their 
manners, and idolatrous in their worship, yet by his preaching 
and miracles he prevailed on them to embrace the tenets of 
the Gospel; nor did he leave them till he had confirmed them 
in the faith. 

After this long tour he returned to Alexandria, where he 
preached with the greatest freedom, ordered and disposed of the 
affairs of the church, and wisely provided for a succession, by 
constituting governors and pastors of it. But the restless enemy 
of the souls of men would not suffer our apostle to continue in 
peace and quietness, for while he was assiduously laboring in 
the vineyard of his Master, the idolatrous inhabitants, about the 
time of Easter, when they were celebrating the solemnities of 
Serapis, tumultuously entered the church, forced St. Mark, then 
performing divine service, from thence ; and binding his feet 
with cords, dragged him through the streets, and over the most 
craggy places, to the Bucelus, a precipice near the sea, leaving 
him there in a lonesome prison, for that night 5 but his great 
and beloved Master appeared to him in a vision, comforting 
and encouraging his soul, under the ruins of his shattered body. 
The next morning early the tragedy began afresh, for they 
dragged him about in the same cruel and barbarous manner, till 
he expired. But their malice did not end with his death; they 
burnt his mangled body after they had so inhumanly deprived 
it of life : but the Christians, after the horrid tragedy was over, 
gathered up his bones and ashes, and decently'interred them 
near the place where he used to preach. His remains were 
afterwards, with great pomp, removed from Alexandria to Ven- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



517 



ice, where they were religiously honored, and he was adopted 
the tutelar saint and patron of that state. 

He suffered Martyrdom on the 25th of April, hut the year is 
not absolutely known: the most probable opinion however is 
that it happened about the end of Nero's reign. 

His Gospel, the only writing he left behind him, was written 
at the entreaty and earnest desire of the converts at Rome, who 
not content with having heard St. Peter preach, pressed St. 
Mark, his fellow disciple, to commit to writing an historical ac- 
count of what he had delivered to them, which he performed 
with equal faithfulness and brevity, and being perused and ap- 
proved of by St. Peter, it was commanded to be publicly read 
in their assemblies. It was frequently styled St. Peters Gospel, 
not because he dictated it to St. Mark, but because the latter 
composed it in the same manner as St. Peter usually delivered 
his discourses to the people. And this is probably the reason 
of what St. Chrysostom observes, that in his style of expression 
he delights to imitate St. Peter, representing a great deal in a 
few words. The remarkable impartiality he observes in all his 
relations is plain from hence, that so far from concealing the 
shameful lapse and denial of Peter, he describes it with more 
aggravating circumstances than any of the other evangelists. 



ST. LUKE. 



This disciple of the blessed Jesus was born at Antioch, the 
metropolis of Syria, a city celebrated by the greatest writers of 
those times for the pleasantness of its situation, the fertility of its 
soil, the riches of its commerce, the wisdom of its senate, and 
the civility and politeness of its inhabitants. It was eminent for 
schools of learning, which produced the most renowned masters 
in the arts and sciences. So that, being born, as it were, in the 
lap of the muses, he could not well fail of acquiring an ingeni- 
ous and liberal education. But he was not contented with the 
learning of his own country ; he traveled for improvement into 
several parts of Greece and Egypt, and became particularly 
skilled in physic, which he made his profession. 

But those who would, from this particular, infer the quality of 
his birth and fortune, forget that the healing art was in those 

60 



518 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



early times generally practiced by servants; and hence Grotiu* 
is of opinion, that St. Luke was carried to Rome, and lived there 
a servant to some noble family, in quality of physician; but 
after obtaining his freedom he returned into his own country, 
and probably continued his profession till his death, it being so 
highly consistent with, and in many cases subservient to, the care 
of souls. 

He was also famous for his skill in another art, namely, paint- 
ing, as appears from an ancient inscription found in a vault near 
the church of St. Maria de Via Lata, at Rome, supposed to have 
been the place where St. Paul dwelt, which mentions a picture 
of the blessed Virgin, Una ex vii. ab Luca depictis, "being one 
of the seven painted by St. Luke." 

St. Luke was a Jewish proselyte; but at what time he became 
a Christian is uncertain. It is the opinion of some, from the in- 
troduction to his Gospel, that he had the facts from the reports 
of others, who were eye-witnesses, and suppose him to have been 
converted by St. Paul: and that he learned the history of his 
Gospel from the conversation of that apostle, and wrote it under 
his direction; and that when St. Paul, in one of his epistles, says, 
" according to my Gospel, 5 ' he means this of St. Luke, which 
he styled " his," from the great share he had in the composition 
of it. 

On the other hand, those who hold that he wrote his Gospel 
from his own personal knowledge, observe, that he could not 
receive it from St. Paul, as an eye-witness of the matters con- 
tained in it, because all those matters were transacted before his 
conversion; and that he never saw our Lord before he appeared 
to him in his journey to Damascus, which was some time after he 
ascended into heaven. Consequently when St. Paul says, w ac- 
cording to my Gospel," he means no more than that Gospel in 
general which he preached; the whole preaching of the apostles 
being styled the Gospel. 

But however this be, St. Luke became the inseparable com- 
panion of St. Paul, in all his travels, and his constant fellow- 
laborer in the work of the ministry. This endeared him to that 
apostle who seems delighted with owning him for his fellow- 
laborer, and in calling him "the beloved physician," and the 
" brother whose praise is in the Gospel." 

St. Luke wrote two books for the use of the church, his Gospel 
and the Acts of the Apostles; both which he dedicated to Theo- 
philus, which many of the ancients suppose to be a feigned name, 
denoting a lover of God, a title common to all sincere Christians. 
But others think it was a real person, because the title of "most 
excellent" is attributed to him; the usual title and form of ad- 
dress in those times to princes and great men. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



519 



His Gospel contains the principal transactions of our Lord's 
life; and the particulars omitted by him are in general of less 
importance than those of the other Evangelists. 

With regard to the Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke, 
the work was, no doubt performed at Rome, about the time of 
St. Paul's residing there, with which he concludes his history. 

It contains the actions, and sometimes the sufferings, of the 
principal apostles, especially St. Paul, whose activity in the cause 
of Christ made him bear a great part in the labors of his Master; 
and St. Luke being his constant attendant, an eye-witness of the 
whole carriage of his life, and privy to his most intimate transac- 
tions, was consequently capable of giving a more full and satis- 
factory account of them. Among other things he enumerates 
the great miracles the apostles did in confirmation of their doc- 
trine. 

In both these treaties his manner of writing is exact and ac- 
curate; his style noble and elegant, sublime and lofty, and yet 
clear and perspicuous, flowing with an easy and natural grace 
and sweetness, admirably adapted to an historical design. In 
short, as an historian he was faithful in his relations, and elegant 
in his writings; as a minister, careful and diligent for the good 
of souls; as a Christian, devout and pious; and to crown all the 
rest, laid down his life in testimony of the Gospel he had both 
preached and published to the world. 



ST. BARNABAS. 



St. Barnabas, was at first called Joses, a softer termination 
generally given by the Greeks to Joseph. His fellow disciples 
added the name of Barnabas, as significant of some extraordinary 
property in him. St. Luke interprets it "the son of consola- 
tion," from his being ever ready to minister to the afflicted, both 
by word and action. 

He was a descendant of the tribe of Levi, of a family removed 
out of Judea, and settled in the Isle of Cyprus, where they had 
purchased an estate, as the Levites might do out of their own 
country. His parents finding him of a promising genius and 
disposition, placed him in one of the schools of Jerusalem, 
under the tuition of Gamaliel, St. Paul's master; an incident 



520 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



which, in all probability, laid the first foundation for that inti- 
macy that afterwards subsisted between these two eminent ser- 
vants of the blessed Jesus. 

The first mention we find of St. Barnabas in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, is the record of that great and worthy service he did the 
church of Christ, by succoring it with the sale of his patrimony 
in Cyprus, the whole price of which he laid at the apostles' feet, 
to be put into the common stock, and disposed of as they should 
think fit among the indigent followers of the holy Jesus. 

And now St. Barnabas became considerable in the ministry 
and government of the church; for we find that St. Paul, com- 
ing to Jerusalem three years after his conversion, and not read- 
ily procuring admittance into the church, because he had been 
so grievous a persecutor of it, and might still be suspected of a 
design to betray it, addressed himself to Barnabas, a leading 
man among the Christians, and one that had personal knowledge 
of him. He accordingly introduced him to Peter and James, 
and satisfied them of the sincerity of his conversion, and in 
what a miraculous manner it was brought about. This re- 
commendation carried so much weight with it, that Paul was 
not only received into the communion of the apostles, but 
taken into Peters house, " and abode with him fifteen days." 
Gal i. 18. 

About four or five years after this, the agreeable news was 
brought to Jerusalem, that several of their body who had been 
driven out of Judea by the persecutions raised about St. Stephen, 
had preached at Antioch with such success, that a great number, 
both of Jews and proselytes, embraced Christianity; and were 
desirious that some of the superior order would come down and 
confirm them. This request was immediately granted, and Bar- 
nabas was deputed to settle the new plantation. Being himself 
"a good man and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith," his char- 
itable deeds accompanying his discourses, and his pious life ex- 
emplifying his sound doctrine, the people were greatly influ- 
enced by him, and very considerable additions were made to 
the Christian church. But there being too large a field for one 
laborer, he went to fetch Saul from Tarsus, who came back 
with him to Antioch, and assisted him a whole year in establish- 
ing that church. Their labors prospered: their assemblies were 
crowded, and the disciples, who before this were called among 
themselves, "brethren, believers, elect," and by their enemies, 
"Nazarenes, and Galileans, were now called "Christians" first 
at Antioch. 

When the apostles had fulfilled their charitable embassy, and 
stayed some time at Jerusalem to see the good effects of it, they 
returned again to Antioch, bringing with them John, whose sur- 
name was Mark, the son of Mary, sister to Barnabas, and at 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



521 



whose house the disciples found both security for their persons, 
and conveniency for the solemnities of their worship. But soon 
after the apostles returned to Antioch, an express relation was 
made to the church by the mouth of one of the prophets who 
ministered there, that Barnabas and Saul should be set apart 
for an extraordinary work, unto which the Holy Ghost had ap- 
pointed them. Upon this declaration, the church set apart a 
day for a solemn mission; after devout prayer and fasting, they 
laid their hands upon them, and ordained them to their office; 
which was to travel over certain countries, and preach the Gos- 
pel to the Gentiles. From this joint commission Barnabas ob- 
tained the name of an apostle, not only among later writers of 
the church, but with St. Paul himself, as we find in the history 
of the Acts of the Apostles. 

Paul and Barnabas being thus consecrated "the apostles of 
the Gentiles," entered upon their province, taking with them 
John Mark, for their minister or deacon, who assisted them 
in many ecclesiastical offices, particularly in taking care of the 
poor. 

The first city they visited after their departure from Antioch, 
was Selucia, a city of Syria, adjoining to the sea; from, whence 
they sailed for the island of Cyprus, the native place of St. Bar- 
nabas, and arrived at Salamis, a port formerly remarkable for 
its trade. Here they boldly preached the doctrines of the Gos- 
pel in the synagogues of the Jews: and from thence traveled to 
Paphos, the capital of the island, and famous for a temple dedi- 
cated to Venus, the tutelar goddess of Cyprus. Here their 
preaching was attended with remarkable success ; Sergius Pau- 
lus, the proconsul, being, among others, converted to the Chris- 
tian faith. 

Leaving Cyprus, they crossed the sea to preach, in Pamphilia, 
where their deacon John, to the great grief of his uncle Barna- 
bas, left them, and returned to Jerusalem: either tired with con- 
tinual travels, or discouraged at the unavoidable dangers and 
difficulties which experience had sufficiently informed him would 
constantly attend the preachers of the Gospel from hardened 
Jews and idolatrous Gentiles. 

Soon after their arrival at Lystra, Paul cured a man who had 
been lame from his mothers womb, which so astonished the in- 
habitants, that they believed them to be gods, who had visited 
the world in the forms of men, Barnabas they treated as Jupi- 
ter, their sovereign deity, either because of his age, or the grav- 
ity and comeliness of his person; for all the writers of antiquity 
represent him as a person of venerable aspect, and a majestic 
presence. But the apostles, with the greatest humility, declared 
themselves to be but mortals: and the inconstant populace soon 
satisfied themselves of the truth of what they had asserted; for 



522 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



at the persuasion of their indefatigable persecutors, who fol- 
lowed them thither also, they made an assault upon them, and 
stoned Paul, till they left him for dead. But, supported by an 
invisible power from on high, he soon recovered his spirits and 
strength, and the apostles immediately departed for Derbe. Soon 
after their arrival, they again applied themselves to the work of 
the ministry, and converted many to the religion of the blessed 
Jesus. 

From Derbe they returned back to Lystra, Iconium, and An- 
tioch, in Pisidia, " confirming the souls of the disciples, and ex- 
horting them to continue in the faith; and that we must through 
much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God." Acts, xiv. 
22. After a short stay they again visited the churches of Pam- 
philia, Perga, and Attala, where they took ship, and sailed to 
Antioch in Syria, the place from whence they first set out. 
Soon after their arrival, they called the church of this city to- 
gether, and gave them an account of their travels, and the great 
success with which their preaching in the Gentile world had been 
attended. 

But they had not long continued in this city, before their assist- 
ance was required to compose a difference in the church, occa- 
sioned by some of the Jewish converts, who endeavored to 
persuade the Gentiles that they were bound to observe the law 
of Moses, as well as that of Christ; and be circumcised as well 
as baptized. Barnabas endeavored to dissuade the zealots from 
pressing such unnecessary observances: but all his endeavors 
proving ineffectual, he was deputed with St. Paul and others, to 
the church at Jerusalem, to submit the question, to be determined 
there in a full assembly. During their stay at Jerusalem, Mark, 
in all probability, reconciled himself to Barnabas, and returned 
with him and St. Paul to Antioch, after they had succeeded in 
their business in Jerusalem, and obtained a decree from the 
synod there, that the Gentile converts should not have circumci- 
sion and other Mosaic rites imposed upon them. 

This determination generally comforted and quieted the minds 
of the Gentiles, but it did not prevent the bigoted Jews from 
keeping up a separation from them; and that with so much ob- 
stinacy, that when St. Peter, some time after, came to Antioch. 
he, for fear of offending them, deviated from his former practice 
and late speech and vote in the synod of Jerusalem, by refrain- 
ing from all kinds of communion with the Gentiles: and Barna- 
bas himself, though so great and good a man, was induced, by 
the authority of his example, to commit the same error; but, 
doubtless, on being reproved by St. Paul, they both took more 
courage, and walked according to the true liberty and freedom 
of the Gospel. 

Some days after this last occurrence, Paul made a proposal to 



PAUL AND BARNABAS REPUTED AS GOBS 

[Page 522.] 




"And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius. because he was the chief 
speaker. 

"Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and gailands 
unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people." — Acts xiv. 12, 13. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



525 



Barnabas, that they should repeat their late travels among the 
Gentiles, and see how the churches they had planted increased 
in their numbers, and improved in the doctrines they had taught 
them. Barnabas very readily complied with the motion; but de- 
sired they might take with them his reconciled nephew, John 
Mark. This Paul absolutely refused, because, in their former 
voyage, Mark had not shown the constancy of a faithful minister 
of Christ, but consulted his own ease at a dangerous juncture; 
departed from them without leave at Pamphilia, and returned to 
Jerusalem. Barnabas still insisted on taking him; and the other 
continuing as resolutely opposed to it, a short debate arose, which 
terminated in a separation, whereby these two holy men, who 
had for several years been companions in the ministry, and with 
united endeavors propagated the Gospel of the Son of God, now 
took different provinces. Barnabas, with his kinsman, sailed t^,?* 
his own country, Cyprus; and Paul, accompanied by Silas, trav- 
eled to the churches of Syria and Cilicia. 

After this separation from St. Paul, the sacred writings give 
us no account of St. Barnabas; nor are the ecclesiastical writers 
agreed among themselves with regard to the actions of this apos- 
tle after his sailing for Cyprus. This however seems to be cer- 
tain, that he did not spend the whole remainder of his life in that 
island, but visited different parts of the world, preaching the glad 
tidings of the Gospel, healing the sick, and working other 
miracles among the Gentiles. After long and painful travels, 
attended with different degrees of success, in different places, he 
returned to Cyprus, his native country, where he suffered mar- 
tyrdom, in the following manner: certain Jews coming from 
Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then preaching the Gos- 
pel, being highly exasperated at his extraordinary success, fell 
upon him as he was disputing in the synagogue, dragged him out, 
and after the most inhuman tortures, stoned him to death. His 
kinsman, John Mark, who was a spectator of this barbarous ac- 
tion, privately interred his body in a cave, where it remained till 
the time of the Emperor Zeno, in the year of Christ, 485, when 
it was discovered, with St. Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew, written 
with his own hand, lying on his breast. 



526 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. STEPHEN. 



Both the Scriptures and the ancient writers are silent with 
regard to the birth, country, and parents of St. Stephen. Epi- 
phanius is of opinion that he was one of the seventy disciples: 
but this is very uncertain. Our blessed Saviour appointed his 
seventy disciples to teach the doctrines and preach the glad 
tidings of the Gospel; but it does not appear that St. Stephen 
and the six other first deacons, had any particular designation 
before they were chosen for the service of the tables; and there- 
fore St. Stephen could not have been one of our Lord's disciples, 
though he might have often followed him, and listened to his 
discourses. 

He was remarkably zealous for the cause of religion, and full 
of the Holy Ghost: working many wonderful miracles before 
the people, and pressing them, with the greatest earnestness, to 
embrace the doctrine of the Gospel. 

This highly provoked the Jews; and some of the synagogues 
of the freed-men of Cyrenia, Alexandria, and other places, 
entered into dispute with him; but being unable to resist the 
wisdom and spirit by which he spake, they suborned false wit- 
nesses against him, to testify that they heard him blaspheme 
against Moses and against God. Nor did they stop here; they 
stirred up the people by their calumnies: so that they dragged 
him before the council of the nation, or great Senhedrim, 
where they produced false witnesses against him, who deposed 
that they heard him speak against the temple, and against the 
.law, and affirm that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the holv 
place, and abolish the law of Moses. Stephen, supported by his 
own innocence, and an invisible power from on high, appeared 
undaunted in the midst of this assembly, and his countenance 
shone like that of an angel; when the high priest asking him 
what he had to offer against the accusations laid to his charge, he 
answered in a plain and faithful address to the Jews, which he 
closed in the following manner. 

" Ye stiff-necked, ye uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye will 
for ever resist the Holy Ghost. Ye tread in the paths of your 
fathers; as they did, so do you still continue to do. Did not 
your fathers persecute every one of the prophets? Did not they 
slay them who showed the coming of the Holy One, whom ye 
yourselves have betrayed and murdered? Ye have received the 
law by the disposition of angels, but never kept it." 



THE STONING OF STEPHEN. 

[Page 529.] 




LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



529 



At these words they were so highly enraged, that they all 
gnashed their teeth against him. But Stephen, lifting up his 
eyes to hea.ven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the 
right hand of Omnipotence. Upon which he said to the coun- 
cil, "I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the 
right hand of God." This so greatly provoked the Jews, that 
they cried out with one voice, and stopped their ears, as if they 
had heard some dreadful blasphemy; and falling upon him, they 
dragged him out of the city, and stoned him to death. It was 
the custom of the Jews on these occasions, for the witnesses to 
throw the first stone. Whether they observed this particular at 
the martyrdom of Stephen is uncertain; but the Evangelist tells 
us, that the witnesses were principally concerned in this action; 
for they stripped off their clothes, and laid them at the feet of a 
young man whose name was Saul, then a violent persecutor of 
the Christian church, but afterwards one of the most zealous 
preachers of the Gospel. 

Stephen, while they were mangling his body with stones, was 
praying to Omnipotence for their pardon. "Lord," said he, 
"lay not this sin to their charge." And then calling on his dear 
Redeemer to receive his spirit, he yielded up his soul. 



TIMOTHY. 



Timothy was a convert and disciple of St. Paul. He was 
born, according to some, at Lystria; or, according to others, at 
Derbe. His father was a Gentile, but his mother a Jewess, 
whose name was Eunice, and that of his grandmother, Lois. 

These particulars are taken notice of, because St. Paul com- 
mends their piety and the good education which they had given 
Timothy. When St. Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, about 
the year of Christ 51 or 52, the brethren gave a very advan- 
tageous testimony of the merit and good disposition of Timo- 
thy: and the apostle would have him along with him, and he 
initiated him at Lystra before he received him into his company. 
Timothy applied himself to labor with St. Paul in the business of 
the Gospel; and did him many important services, through the 
whole course of his preaching. It is not known when he was 
made a bishop; but it is believed that he received very early the 
imposition of the apostle's hands; and that in consequence of a 

61 



530 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



particular revelation, or from the Holy Ghost. St. Paul calls 
him not only his dearly beloved son, but also his brother, the 
companion of his labors, and a man of God. He declared there 
were none more united with him in heart and mind, than Timothy. 

This holy disciple accompanied St. Paul to Macedonia, to 
Philippi, to Thessalonica, to Berea; and when the apostle went 
from Berea, he left Timothy and Silas there to confirm the 
converts. When he came to Athens, he sent for Timothy to 
come thither to him; and when he was come and had given 
him an account of the churches of Macedonia, St. Paul sent 
him back to Thessalonica, from whence he afterwards returned 
with Silas, and came to St. Paul at Corinth. There he contin- 
ued with him, and the apostle mentions him, with Silas, at the 
beginning of the two epistles which he then wrote to the Thes- 
salonians. 

Some years after this, St. Paul sent Timothy and Erastus into 
Macedonia; and gave Timothy orders to call at Corinth, to re- 
fresh the minds of the Corinthians, with regard to the truths 
which he had inculcated in them. Some time after, writing to 
the same Corinthians, he recommends them to take care of Timo- 
thy, and send him back in peace Rafter which, Timothy returned 
to St. Paul in Asia, who there staid for him. They went together 
into Macedonia; and the apostle puts Timothy's name with 
his own, before the second epistle to the Corinthians, which he 
wrote to them from Macedonia, about the middle of the year of 
Christ 57. And he sends his recommendations to the Romans 
in the letter which he wrote to them from Corinth the same year. 

When St. Paul returned from Rome, in 64, he left Timothy 
at Ephesus to take care of that church, of which he was the first 
bishop, as he is recognized by the council of Chalcedon. St. 
Paul wrote to him from Macedonia, the first of the two letters 
which arc addressed to him. He recommends him to be more 
moderate in his austerities, and to drink a little wine because of 
the weakness of his stomach, and his frequent infirmities. After 
the apostle came to Rome, in the year 65, being now very near 
his death, he wrote to him his second letter, which was full of the 
marks of his kindness and tenderness for this, his dear disciple; 
and which is justly looked upon as the last will of St. Paul. 
He desires him to come to Rome to him before winter, and bring 
with him several things which St. Paul had left at Troas. If 
Timothy went to Rome, as it is probable he did, he must have 
been a witness of the martyrdom of this apostle, in the year of 
Christ 66. 

If he did not die before the year 97, we can hardly doubt but 
that he must be the pastor of the church of Ephesus, to whom 
John writes in his Revelations: though the reproaches with which 
he seems to load him for his instability in having left his first 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



533 



love, do not seem to agree to so ho] y a man as Timothy was. 
Thus he speaks to him: "I know thy works, and thy labor, and 
thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: 
and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are 
not, and hast found them liars. And hast borne and hast pa- 
tience, and for my name's sake hast labored and hast not fainted. 
Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee; because thou hast 
left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art 
fallen: and repent and do the first works, or else I will come 
unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its 
place, except thou repent.*' The greatest part of interpreters 
think that these reproaches do not so much concern the person of 
Timothy, as that of some members of his church, whose zeal was 
grown cool. But others are persuaded that they may be applied 
to Timothy himself, who made ample amends, by the martyrdom 
which he suffered, for the reproaches mentioned by St. John in 
this place. It is supposed that Timothy had Onesimus for his 
successor. 



TITUS. 



Titus was a Gentile by religion and birth, but converted by 
St. Paul, who calls him his son. St. Jerome says that he was 
St. Paul's interpreter; and that, probably, because he might 
write what St. Paul dictated, or explained in Latin what this 
apostle said in Greek; or rendered into Greek, what St. Paul 
said in Hebrew or Syriac. St. Paul took him with him to Jeru- 
salem, when he went thither in the year 51 of the vulgar efa, 
about deciding the question which was then started, whether the 
converted Gentiles ought to be made subject to the ceremonies of 
the law? Some would then have obliged him to circumcise Ti- 
tus-, but neither he nor Titus would consent to it. Titus was sent 
by the same apostle to Corinth, upon occasion of some disputes 
which then divided the church. He was very well received by 
the Corinthians, and very much satisfied with their ready compli- 
ance: but would receive nothing from them, imitating thereby 
the disinterestedness of his master. 

From hence he went to St. Paul in Macedonia, and gave him 
an account of the state of the church at Corinth. A little while 
after, the apostle desired him to return again to Corinth, to set 
things in order preparatory to his coming. Titus readily under- 



534 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



took this journey, and departed immediately, carrying with him 
St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Titus was made 
bishop of the Isle of Crete, about the 63d year of Christ, when 
St. Paul was obliged to quit that island, in order to take care of 
the other churches. The following year he wrote to him, to de- 
sire that as soon as he should have sent Tychicus or Artemus to 
him for supplying his place in Crete, Titus would come to 
him to Nicopolis in Macedonia, or to Nicopolis in Epirus, upon 
the gulf of Ambracia, where the apostle intended to pass his 
winter. 

The subject of this epistle is to represent to Titus what are the 
qualities that a bishop should be endued with. As the principal 
function which Titus was to exercise in the Isle of Crete was to 
ordain priests and bishops, it was highly incumbent on him to 
make a discreet choice. The apostle also gives him a sketch for 
the advice and instructions which he was to propound to all sorts 
of persons; to the aged, both men and women; to young people 
of each sex; to slaves or servants. He exhorts him to keep a 
strict authority over the Cretans; and to reprove them with 
severity, as being a people addicted to lying, wickedness, idle- 
ness and gluttony. And as many converted Jews were in the 
churches of Crete, he exhorts Titus to oppose their vain tradi- 
tions and Jewish fables: and at the same time to show them 
that the observation of the legal ceremonies is no longer neces- 
sary; that the distinction of meat is now abolished; and that 
every thing is pure and clean to those that are so themselves: he 
puts him in mind of exhorting the faithful to be obedient to tem- 
poral power; to avoid disputes, quarrels, and slander; to apply 
themselves to honest callings; and to shun the company of an 
heretic, after the first and second admonition. 

The epistle to Titus has always been acknowledged by the 
church. The Marcionites did not receive it, nor did the Basi- 
lidians, and some other heretics; but Tition, the head of the 
Encratics, received it, and preferred it before all the rest. It is 
not certainly known from what place it was written, nor by whom 
it was sent. 

Titus was deputed to preach the Gospel in Dalmatia; and he 
was still there in the year 65, when the apostle wrote his second 
epistle to Timothy. He afterwards returned into Crete; from 
which it is said he propagated the Gospel into the neighboring 
islands. He died at the age of 94, and was buried in Crete. 
We are assured that the cathedral of the city of Candia is dedi- 
cated to his name ; and that his head is preserved there entire. 
The Greeks keep his festival on the 25th of August, and the 
Latins on the 4th of January. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



535 



THE VIRGIN MARY. 



As we are taught by the predictions of the prophets, that a 
virgin was to be the mother of the promised Messiah, so we 
are assured by the unanimous concurrence of the evangelists, 
that this virgin's name was Mary, the daughter of Joachim 
and Anna, of the tribe of Judah: and married to Joseph of 
the same tribe. The Scripture indeed, tells us no more of 
the blessed virgin's parents, than that she was of the family of 
David. 

What is said concerning the birth of Mary and her parents, is 
to be found only in some apocryphal writings; but which, how- 
ever, are very ancient. St. John says, that Mary the wife of 
Cleophas was the virgin's sister Mary, that was of the royal race 
of David. She was allied likewise to the family of Aaron, since 
Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, the mother of John the Baptist, 
was her cousin. 

Not to build upon uncertainties, thus much we are assured by 
the testimony of an angel, that she was happy above all other 
women, in the divine favor; that she was full of grace; and that 
the Lord was with her in a peculiar manner. 

For since the Son of God, in order to become a man, and to 
dwell among us, was obliged to take a human body from some 
woman, it was agreeable to his infinite wisdom that he should 
choose for this purpose one whose endowments of body and mind 
were most holy and pious; who excelled the rest of her sex in 
chaste and virtuous dispositions; and who, in short, was a reposi- 
tory of all the divine graces. 

The excesses of that devotion which has been paid to the 
blessed virgin, and the legendary tales of monks, cannot in reason 
blemish her real excellencies, no more than the idolatries of the 
pagans can obscure the light of the sun which is deified. 
After all the abuses of superstition or profaneness, the extremes 
of honor and dishonor, there will ever be a very high esteem and 
veneration due to the mother of the blessed Jesus. 

That the mother of our Lord, notwithstanding her marriage, 
was even in that state to remain a pure virgin, and to conceive 
Christ in a miraculous manner, is the clear doctrine of the holy 
Scriptures. "Behold," says Isaiah, in chap, vii., prophesying 
of this mysterious incarnation, "a virgin shall conceive and 
bear a son." The Hebrew word Almah most properly signifies 
a virgin ; and so it is translated here by all the ancient inter- 
preters; and never once used in the Scriptures in any other 



536 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



sense, as several learned men have proved against the particular 
pretensions of the modern Jews. It primarily signifies "hidden." 
or "concealed;" whence it is used to denote a virgin, because 
of the custom in the eastern countries of keeping such concealed 
from the view of men, never suffering them to stir out of the 
women's apartments. 

Though we cannot doubt but that God, who ordained this 
mystery, provided for all circumstances requisite to its accom- 
plishment; yet we may consider which way a decorum was pre- 
served in this case by marriage. St. Matthew says, " The virgin 
was espoused to Joseph; and that before they came together, she 
was found to be with child of the Holy Ghost." Whence we 
may conclude that it was not a constant custom for the bride to 
go and live at the bridegroom's house immediately upon her 
being affianced to him. 

Notwithstanding the various circumstances relating to this 
affair, as told us in apocryphal books, are not to be relied on 
ascertain; yet, however, Mary's resolution of continency, even 
in a married state, cannot be called in question, since her vir- 
ginity is attested by the Gospel; and that herself, speaking to 
the angel, who declared to her that she would become the 
mother of a son told him, "That she knew not a man," or that 
she lived in continency with her husband. For which reason, 
when Joseph perceived her pregnancy, he was at first so ex- 
ceedingly surprised and scandalized at it, that he resolved to 
put her away, but secretly, without making any noise, and with- 
out observing the common formalities: for he knew the mutual 
resolution they had agreed to, of being in continence, though in 
a state of marriage. 

The virgin Mary then being espoused, or married, to Joseph, 
the angel Gabriel appeared to her, in order to acquaint her, 
that she should become the mother of the Messiah. Mary 
asked him how that could be, since she knew no man. To 
which the angel replied, that the Holy Ghost should come 
upon her, and the power of the Highest should overshadow 
her; so that she should conceive without the concurrence of 
any man. And to confirm what he said to her, and show 
that nothing is impossible to God, he added, that her cousin 
Elizabeth, who was old, and had been barren, was then in the 
sixth month of her pregnancy. Mary answered him, " Behold 
the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy 
word." And by the miraculous power of the Holy Ghost, she 
presently conceived the Son of God, the true Emanuel, that is 
to say, "God with us." Whether the holy virgin, immediately 
after the annunciation, went up to the passover at Jerusalem 
(as some have imagined, this being the season of the year for 
it) or not, we have no account from the Evangelist St. Luke; 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



537 



but this he assures us, that a little while after she set out for 
Hebron, a citj in the mountains of Judah, in order to visit her 
cousin Elizabeth, to congratulate her upon her pregnancy, 
which she had learned from the angel, at an age when such a 
blessing was not usually to be expected; and no sooner had she 
entered the house and began to speak, than upon Elizabeth's 
hearing the voice of Mary's .salutation, her child, young John 
the Baptist, transported with supernatural emotions of joy, 
leaped in her womb. Whereupon she was filled with the Holy 
Ghost; and being, by divine inspiration, acquainted with the 
mystery of the incarnation, she saluted Mary, and cried out, 
"Blessed art thou amongst women; and blessed is the fruit of 
thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my 
Lord should come to me? For lo! as soon as the voice of thy 
salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb 
for joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a 
performance of those things which were told her from the Lord." 
Then Mary, filled with acknowledgments and supernatural 
light, praised God, saying, " My soul doth magnify the Lord, 
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," &c, as we find 
it in the hymn called Magnificat. 

After Mary had continued here about three months, till Eliza- 
beth was delivered (as St. Ambrose thinks, that she might 
see him on whose account she principally made that visit) she 
then returned to her own house. 

When she was ready to be delivered an edict was published 
by Caesar Augustus, in the year of the world 4000, the first of 
Christ, and the third before the vulgar era, which decreed, 
that all the subjects of the Roman empire should go to their 
respective cities and places, there to have their names regis- 
tered according to their families. Thus Joseph and Mary, 
who were both of the linage of David, repaired to the city of 
Bethlehem, the original and native place of their family. But 
while they were in this city, the time being fulfilled in which 
Mary was to be delivered, she brought forth her first-bom 
son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a man- 
ger of the stable or cavern, whither they had retired; for they 
could find no place in the public inn, because of the great 
concourse of people that were then at Bethlehem on the same 
occasion; or they were forced to withdraw into the stable of the 
inn, not being able to get a more convenient place for her to be 
delivered. 

The Greek fathers generally agree that the place of Christ's 
birth was a cavern. Justin and Eusebius place it out of the 
city, but in the neighborhood; and St. Jerome says, it was at 
the extremity of the city, towards the south. It was commonly 
believed that the virgin brought forth Jesus the night after her 



538 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



arrival at Bethlehem, or on the 25th of December. Such is 
the ancient tradition of the church. The fathers inform us that 
Mary brought forth Jesus Christ without pain, and without the 
assistance of any midwife: because she had conceived him with- 
out concupiscence; and that neither she, nor the fruit she brought 
forth, had any share in the curse pronounced against Adam and 
Eve. 

At the same time the angels made the birth of Christ known 
to the shepherds, who were in the fields near Bethlehem; and 
who came in the night to see Mary and Joseph, and the child 
lying in the manger, in order to pay him their tribute of adora- 
tion. Mary took notice of all these things, and laid them up in 
her heart. Some time after came the Magi, or wise men, from 
the East, and brought to Jesus the mysterious presents of gold, 
frankincense, and myrrh, having been directed thither by a star 
which led the way before them, to the very place where the 
babe lay. After this, being warned by an angel that appeared 
to them in a dream, they returned into their own country by a 
way different from that by which they came, without giving 
Herod the intelligence he wanted: which he pretended was in 
order to come and worship the babe, though his real design 
was to cut him off, from a jealousy of his rivalling him in his 
kingdom. 

But the time of Mary's purification being come, that is, forty 
days after the birth of Jesus, she went to Jerusalem in order to 
present her son in the temple; and there to offer the sacrifice 
appointed by the law, for the purification of women after child- 
birth. At that time there was at Jerusalem an old man, named 
Simeon, who was full of the Holy Ghost, and had received a se- 
cret assurance that he should not die before he had seen Christ 
the Lord. Accordingly, he came into the temple by the impulse 
of the Spirit of God, and taking the little Jesus in his arms, he 
blessed the Lord; and then addressing himself to Mary, said, 
"This child is set for the rising and falling of many in Israel; 
and for a sign which shall be spoken against you; even so far 
that thy own soul shall be pierced as with a sword, that the secret 
thoughts in the hearts of many may be discovered." 

Afterwards, when Joseph and Mary were preparing to return 
to their own country of Nazareth, the angel of the Lord ap- 
peared to Joseph in a dream, bidding him to retire into Egypt 
with Mary, and the child, because Herod had a design to destroy 
Jesus. Joseph obeyed the admonition, and continued in Egypt 
till after the death of Herod; when both he and Mary returned 
to Nazareth, not daring to go to Bethlehem, because it was 
the jurisdiction of Archelaus, the son and successor of Herod the 
Great. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



539 



Joseph and Mary went every year to Jerusalem to the feast 
of the passover: and when Jesus was twelve years of age, they 
brought him with them to the capital. When the days of the 
festival were ended, they set out on their return home; but the 
child Jesus continued at Jerusalem, without their perceiving 
it; and thinking that he might be with some of the company, 
they went on a day's journey; when not finding him among 
their acquaintance, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him. 
Three days after, they found him in the temple, sitting among 
the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. When 
they saw him, they were filled with astonishment; and Mary 
said to him, My son, why have you served us thus? Behold 
your father and myself, who have sought you in great affliction. 
Jesus answered them, Why did you seek me? did not you 
know that I must be employed about my father's business? 
Afterwards he returned with them to Nazareth, and lived in filial 
submission to them; but his mother laid up all these things 
in her heart. The Gospel says nothing more of the Virgin Mary, 
till the marriage of Cana of Galilee, where she was present, with 
her son Jesus. 

In process of time according to the divine appointment res- 
pecting his mission, our Saviour resolved to manifest himself to 
the world, and therefore went to the baptism of St. John, from 
thence into the wilderness, and thence to the before-mentioned 
wedding, to which he, with his mother and disciples, had been 
invited. At this entertainment the provision of wine being 
somewhat scanty, (probably because the friends of the married 
couple were but mean) Christ's mother told her son they had 
no wine, not doubting of his power to supply them: to which 
Jesus answered in terms which had some appearance of a re- 
buke, u Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not 
yet come." St. Chrysostom, and the followers of him in his ex- 
plications, impute what was said by the holy Virgin to some 
motive of vanity, and that she was tempted by a desire of seeing 
her own credit raised by the miracles of her son; but the other 
fathers and commentators ascribe it to her charity and com- 
passion towards these poor people. And it is thought that 
Christ's answer was intended for more general use than the pres- 
ent occasion; namely, to teach us to wait God's time of doing 
his own works; and certainly our Lord designed no affront to 
his mother, to whom he always paid a pious and filial rever- 
ence. This answer is imputed by the said fathers and commen- 
tators to Jesus, not as man; but to Jesus, as the Son of God. 
In this respect he says to Mary, What have I to do with thee? 
I know when I ought to show forth my power; nor does it be- 
long to you to appoint me the time of working miracles; since 
the proper time for this has not yet begun; and further intima- 

62 



540 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ting, that when it did, these were not to be wrought out of any 
private, partial, and civil views, but in pursuance of that great 
end which he had in charge, the conversion aud salvation of 
mankind. And so his mother understood him, receiving the an- 
swer with meekness, and charging the servants to attend him, 
and do whatever he commanded them. 

There being in the room six great stone pitcher-. Jesus order- 
ed them to be filled brim-full of water; and afterwards com- 
manded the servants to till out and carry it to the master of 
the feast, who, on tasting, found it was excellent wine. And 
this is the first miracle Jesus wrought at the beginning of his pub- 
lic ministry. 

From hence our Lord went to Capernaum with his mother 
and brethren; that is, with his relations and disciples, in order, 
as St. Chrysostom thinks, to fix the Virgin Mary in a settled 
habitation, while he traveled about the country in the exercise of 
his ministry; and this indeed, seems to be the place where 
the Holy Virgin afterwards principally resided. St. Epiphanius, 
on the contrary, believed that she followed him every where, dur- 
ing the whole time of his preaching; though we do not find that 
the Evangelists make any mention of her when they speak of sev- 
eral holy women of Galilee, who. followed him and ministered to 
his necessities. 

The gospel informs us that as our blessed Saviour, in the 
course of his travels for the fulfillment of his divine mission, was 
on a certain day teaching in a house at Capernaum, so great a 
crowd of people stood about him that neither he nor his disci- 
ples had time to take any refreshment, which caused a report to 
be spread abroad, that he had fainted away. It was not the 
multitude who raised and circulated this false report, but the ig- 
norant and malicious Scribes and Pharisees, who were evey devi- 
sing such methods as their malicious dispositions could project 
to lessen the character and and reputation of the blessed Jesus, and 
to prepossess the minds of the people against the doctrines he 
preached and taught. It was from this view they raised so un- 
just a report, and which occasioned some confusion and inter- 
ruption for a time; but it was soon discovered to be false, the 
tumult appeased, and the enemies of our Lord looked upon by 
the people with that contempt they deserved. 

The mother of Jesus and his bretheren, as it was natural for 
them, upon hearing such a report, came instantly to seek him, 
and endeavored to take him out of the crowd, in order to give 
him all the relief in their power. But when they could not get 
into the house for the throngs of people, they caused a message 
to be coneyed from one to another, till it was told Jesus '*that 
his mother and his brethren were at the door, and desired to 
speak with him.-' Jesus being accordingly informed of their 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



541 



coming, and that they waited to speak to him, being at that in- 
stant engaged in the work of his ministry, preaching the word 
of God, he asked this question: Who is my mother, and who 
are my bretheren! and looking upon those that were round about 
him, he said, These are my mother and bretheren; declaring, 
"That whosoever did the will of his heavenly Father, the same 
was his mother, and sister, and brother." This was what 
Christ hath taught in another place, that we must prefer God 
to all human relations, and give the preference to his service. 
But this saying could not reflect upon his mother, who was 
among the principal of those who did the will of his heavenly 
Father. Immediately upon her approach, a woman of the com- 
pany said with a loud voice, directing her words to Jesus, 
" Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou 
hast sucked." .To which he replied, "Yea, rather blessed are 
they that hear the word of God and keep it." Not intimating 
hereby that she who had the honor to bear him did not deserve 
to be called blessed throughout all generations: but that even 
her happiness consisted more in doing the will of Christ, than in 
giving him a human body. 

From this time we have no further account of the holy Vir- 
gin, till we find her in Jerusalem at the last passover our Sav- 
iour celebrated in that city. Here she saw all that was transac- 
ted against him, followed him to Mount Calvary, and stayed at 
the foot of the cross during the passion of her blessed Son. We 
cannot doubt that her soul was at this time pierced through, as 
old Simeon prophesied, with the most acute pains for the death 
of such a Son. Yet her constancy was remarkable; for when 
the apostles were frightened away from their Master, she with a 
courage undaunted and worthy of the mother of Christ, con- 
tinued even in the midst of the executioners, being prepared to 
die with her Son. 

On this melancholy occasion we cannot but suppose the holy 
Virgin to have been affected with sentiments fit for one who 
had so miraculously conceived, and so carefully observed and 
laid up in her mind all occurrences that related to the Son of 
God. 

Our blessed Lord, who came to set us a pattern of all virtue 
through the whole course of his life, was pleased, in these last 
moments, to teach us that in what circumstances soever we are, 
we must never cast off that love and care which God's law 
obliges us to have for those who gave us life. Being now ready 
to leave the world, and seeing his own mother at the foot of 
the cross, and his beloved disciple, St. John, near her, he be- 
queathed her to him by his last will and testament, saying to 
his mother, "Woman, behold thy son." And to the disciple, 



542 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



"Behold thy mother;" and from that hour the disciple took her 
home to his own house. 

It is not to be doubted but that our Saviour appeared to his 
holy mother immediately after his resurrection, and that she was 
the first, or at least one of the first, to whom he vouchsafed this 
great consolation. 

St. Luke acquaints us, in the first chapter of the Acts, that the 
Virgin Mary was with the apostles and others, and continued with 
them when assembled at Jerusalem after his ascension, waiting 
for the descent of the Holy Ghost; and it is probable that from 
her they learned the whole history of our Lord's private life be- 
fore his baptism; though St. Chrysostom will have them to be 
taught it by revelation. After this she dwelt in the house of St. 
John the Evangelist, who took care of her as his own mother. 
It is thought that he took her along with him to Ephesus, where 
she continued some time, and there is a letter of the council of 
Ephesus, importing, that in the fifth century it was believed she 
was buried there. 

Yet this opinion was not so universally received but that some 
authors of the same age think the Virgin Mary died and was 
buried at Jerusalem: or rather in her sepulchre at Gethsemane, 
near that city, where to this day it is shown in a magnificent 
church dedicated to her name. 

Epiphanius, the most learned father of the fourth century, 
declares he could not tell whether she died a natural death, or 
by martyrdom: or whether she was buried or not. "None 
(says he) knows any thing of her decease: but that it was glo- 
rious cannot be doubted. That body which was perfectly 
chaste and pure must enjoy a happiness worthy of her through 
whom the Sun of Righteousness arose and shone upon the 
world."' 

A learned writer has added to the before-cited passage of 
the council of Ephesus, another remark from their act: "That 
the cathedral church of Ephesus was dedicated under the name 
of the Virgin Mary; and that we find no other church of her 
name at that time in any approved author." For though the 
holy Virgin was always held in great veneration, yet it was not 
the custom of the first ages to give the name of any saint to a 
church, except they had some of the relics, or built it in the 
place where such a saint was martyred; or for some reason of 
the like nature. 

The sentiments of the Roman church are, that she is dead; 
but they are divided as to her having risen again: or whether 
she stays for the general resurrection at Ephesus, Jerusalem, or 
any other place. 

With regard to the age at which she died, and the precise 
year of her death, it is needless to trouble ourselves about this 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



543 



inquiry; since nothing can be said on these matters but what is 
very doubtful: and they cannot be fixed but at random. Nice- 
phorus Callistus, and those who have followed him, give no 
proof of what they advance on this subject, and therefore de- 
serve no credit. Nor shall we build upon the description of 
the holy Virgin given us by the same author, who says, that she 
was of moderate stature; or according to some, a little below 
the ordinary stature of women; that her complexion was of the 
color of wheat, her hair fair, her eyes lively, the eye-balls 
yellowish, or olive cojored, her eye-brows black and semicircular, 
her nose pretty long, her lips red, her hands and fingers large, 
her hair grave, simple and modest, her clothes neat, without any 
pride and ostentation, and of the natural color of the wool. 
It has been said that St. Luke drew her picture ; and in several 
places are shown pictures of her, which, it is affirmed, are copies 
from the original by St. Luke. 

The above mentioned Nicephorus Callistus, an author of the 
14th century, is the first who has spoken of this in a positive 
manner; but Theodorus, lecturer of the church of Constantino- 
ple, who lived in the sixth century, says, that Eudocia sent from 
Jerusalem to Constantinople to the empress Pulcheria, a picture 
of the holy Virgin painted by St. Luke. But we need not be in 
no great pain about this, since the true images of saints are the 
ideas of their virtues, which we should form in our minds, and 
express by our actions. 

Certain it is, that this holy Evangelist has acquainted us with 
some particulars of the life of the holy Virgin, that could hardly 
be learned from any one but herself; which may incline us to 
believe that he had the happiness of her acquaintance, and a 
tolerable share of her confidence. 

With regard to her character, we shall only mention in general, 
that common remark which the Evangelists make, that she was 
more disposed to think than to speak; and observed the ex- 
traordinary things which were said of her son in silence; or, as 
they express it, " she pondered them in her heart." 



544 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



MARY, THE LISTER OF 
LAZARUS. 

This holy woman has been preposterously confounded with 
the sinful person who sat at the feet of the blessed Jesus weeping, 
while he was at meat in the house of Simon the leper. (See 
Luke vii. 37, 39.) Who this sinner was is unknown: some will 
have her to be Mary Magdalene: but this opinion has nothing 
more than conjecture for its basis. 

But whoever that sinner was, she was a very different person 
from Mary the sister of Lazarus, who, with her sister Martha, 
lived with their brother at Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, 
The blessed Jesus had a particular affection for this family, and 
often retired to their house with his disciples. One day. and 
perhaps the first time that Jesus went thither, Martha received 
him with remarkable affection, and took the greatest pains in 
providing a proper entertainment for him: but Mary her sister 
continued sitting at our Saviour's feet listening to his words with 
peculiar attention. This Martha considered as an instance of 
disrespect, and therefore said to Jesus, "Lord dost thou not care 
that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore 
that she help me." But the blessed Jesus justified Mary, by tell- 
ing her sister, that she had chosen the better part, which should 
not be taken from her. 

Some time after, their brother Lazarus fell sick, and his sis- 
ters sent to acquaint Jesus of the misfortune; but he did not 
arrive at Bethany till after Lazarus was dead. Martha, hear- 
ing Jesus was come into the neighborhood, went and told him, 
that if he had not been absent her brother had been still alive. 
Jesus promised her that her brother should rise again. To 
which Martha answered, "I know that he shall rise again at 
the last day." Jesus replied, " I am the resurrection and the 
life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. 
Believest thou this?" Martha answered, "Yea, Lord: I believe 
that thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into 
the world." 

Having said this, she departed, and gave her sister notice 
privately, that Jesus was come. Mary, as soon as she heard 
the welcome tidings, arose and went to Jesus; and as Martha 
had done before her, said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died." The blessed Jesus was greatly moved 
at the pathetic complaints of these two worthy sisters, and on 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



545 



asking where they had buried him, they conducted him to the 
sepulchre. 

On his arrival at the place where the body of Lazarus was de- 
posited, the great Redeemer of mankind groaned deeply in his 
spirit; he wept, he prayed to his Father, and then cried with a 
loud voice, "Lazarus come forth." The dead obeyed the voice 
of the Son of God; Lazarus immediately revived, and Jesus re- 
stored him to his sisters. 

After performing this stupendous miracle, Jesus departed from 
the neighborhood of Jerusalem, and did not return thither till 
some days before the passover. Six days before that festival, Je- 
sus came again to Bethany with his disciples, and was invited 
to a supper at the house of Simon the leper. Martha attended, 
and Lazarus was one of the guests. 

During the supper, Mary, to express her gratitude, took a 
pound of spikenard, a very precious perfume, and poured it on 
the head and feet of Jesus, wiping his feet with the hair of her 
head; and the whole house was filled with the odor of the oint- 
ment. Judas Iscariot was highly offended at this generous 
action; but his Master vindicated Mary, and told him, that by 
this she had prevented his embalment, signifying that his death 
and burial were at hand. 

After this we have no account of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, 
in the sacred writings. Several authors, indeed, by not distin- 
guishing properly between Mary, the sister of Martha, and Mary 
Magdalene, say, that she was present at the crucifixion of the 
great Redeemer of mankind: and also that both she and her sis- 
ter accompanied the women who went to embalm the body. 
This is not, indeed, improbable; but it is certain neither of them 
are particularly mentioned by the Evangelists. The ancient 
Latins believed, and the Greeks are still of the same opinion, 
that both Martha and Mary continued at Jerusalem, and died 
there; and several ancient Martyrologists place their feast on the 
nineteenth of January. 



JOSEPH. 



Joseph, or Joses, was the son of Mary Cleophas, brother to 
St. James the Less, and a near relation to the blessed Jesus, 
according to the flesh; being the son of Mary, the holy Virgin's 



546 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



sister, and Cleophas, who was Joseph's brother, or son to Joseph 
himself, as several of the ancients suppose; who have asserted 
that Joseph was married to Mary Cleophas, or Escha, before he 
was married to the holy Virgin. Some believe Joseph the son 
of Mary Cleophas, to be the same with Joseph Barsabas, sur- 
named the Just, who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, 
and was proposed, with St. Matthias, to fill up the traitor Judas' 
place; but in this there is no certainty. We learn nothing par- 
ticular in Scripture concerning Joseph, the brother of our Lord. 
If he was one of those among his near kinsmen who did not be- 
lieve in him, when they would have persuaded him to go to the 
feast of the tabernacles, some months before our Saviours death, 
it is probable that he was afterwards converted; for it is inti- 
mated in Scripture, that at last all our Saviour's brethren believed 
in him; and St. Chrysostom says, that they were signalized for 
the eminence of their faith and virtue. 



JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA. 



Joseph of Arimathea, or of Ranatha, Rama or Ramula, a 
city between Joppa and Jerusalem, was a Jewish senator, and 
privately a disciple of Jesus Christ: he was not consentient to 
the designs of the rest of the Jews, particularly the members 
of the Sanhedrim, who condemned and put Jesus to death: and 
when our Saviour was dead, he went boldly to Pilate, and de- 
sired the body of Jesus in order to bury it. This he obtained, 
and accordingly buried it after an honorable manner in a se- 
pulchre newly made in a garden; which was upon the same 
Mount Calvary where Jesus had been crucified. After he had 
placed it there, he closed the entrance of it with a stone cut par- 
ticularly for this purpose, and which exactly filled the open part 
of it. 

The Greek church keeps the festival of Joseph of Arimathea, 
July, the 31st. 

We do not meet with his name in the old Latin Martyrologies; 
nor was it inserted in the Roman till after the year 1585. The 
body of Joseph of Arimathea was, it is said, brought to the ab- 
bey of Moyenmontier by Fortunatus, archbishop of Grada; to 
which Charlemagne had given this monastery under the denomi- 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 547 

nation of a benefice. His remains were honored till the tenth 
age; but then the monastery being given to canons, who con- 
tinued seventy years there, the relics were carried away by some 
foreign monks, and so lost with many others. 



NICODEMUS. 



Nicodemus, one of the disciples of our blessed Saviour, was 
a Jew by nation, and by sect a Pharisee. The Gospel calls him 
a ruler of the Jews; and Christ gives him the name of a Mas- 
ter of Israel. When our Saviour began to manifest himself by 
his miracles, at Jerusalem, at the first passover which he cele- 
brated there after his baptism, Nicodemus made no doubt but 
that he was the Messiah, and came to him by night, that he 
might learn of him the way of salvation. Jesus told him, that 
no one could see the kingdom of heaven, except he should be 
born again. Nicodemus taking this in the literal sense, made 
answer, How can a man be born again? Can he enter a second 
time into his mother's womb? To which Jesus replied, If a man 
be not born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; 
and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. Nicodemus 
asked him, How can these things be? Jesus answered: "Art 
thou a master of Israel, and ignorant of these things? We tell 
you what we know, and you receive not our testimony. If you 
believe not common things, and which may be called earthly, 
how will you believe me if I speak to you of heavenly things? 
And as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, 
so must the Son of Man be lifted up on high: for God has so 
loved the world that he has given his only Son; so that no man 
who believes in him shall perish, but shall have eternal life; for 
God sent his Son into the world, that the world through him 
might be saved." 

After this conversation, Nicodemus became a disciple of Je- 
sus Christ; and there is no doubt to be made but he came to 
hear him as often as our Saviour came to Jerusalem. It hap- 
pened on a time, that the priests and Pharisees had sent officers 
to seize Jesus, who returned to them, and made this report, that 
never man spoke as he did; to which the Pharisees replied, 
"Are you also of his disciples? Is there any one of the elders 

63 



548 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



or Pharisees that have believed in him?" Then Nicodemus 
thought himself obliged to make answer, saying, "Does the 
law permit us to condemn any one before he is heard?" To 
which they replied. "Are you also a Galilean? Read the Scrip- 
tures, and you will find that never any prophet came out of Gal- 
ilee." After this the council was dismissed. At last Nicode- 
mus declared himself openly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when he 
came with Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to the 
body of Christ crucified: which they took down from the cross, 
embalmed and laid in the sepulchre. 

Nicodemus received baptism from the disciples of Christ: but 
it is uncertain whether before or after his passion. 

The Jews being informed of this, deposed him from his digni- 
ty of senator, excommunicated and drove him from Jerusalem. 
It is said also, that they would have put him to death; but that 
in consideration of Gamaliel, who was his uncle, or cousin- 
german, they contented themselves with beating him almost to 
death, and plundering his goods. 

Gamaliel conveyed him to his country house, and provided 
him with what was necessary for his support; and when he died, 
Gamaliel buried him honorably near St. Stephen. 

His body was discovered in 415, together with those of St. 
Stephen and Gamaliel; and the Latin church pays honor to all 
three on the third of August. 



JOHN MARK. 

John Mark, cousin to St. Barnabas, and a disciple of his, 
was the son of a Christian woman, named Mary, who had a 
house in Jerusalem, where the apostles and the faithful generally 
used to meet. Here they were at prayers in the night, when St. 
Peter who was delivered out of prison by the angel, came and 
knocked at the door: and in this house the celebrated church of 
Sion was said to have been afterwards established. 

John Mark, whom some very impropely confound with the 
Evangelist St. Mark, adhered to St. Paul and St. Barnabas, 
and followed them in their return to Antioch: he continued in 
their company and service till they came to Perga, in Pam- 
phylia, but then seeing that they were undertaking a longer 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



549 



journey, he left them, and returned to Jerusalem. This hap- 
pened in the year 45 of the common aera. 

Some years after, that is to say in the year 51, Paul and Bar- 
nabas preparing to return into Asia, in order to visit the churches 
which they had formed there, Barnabas was of opinion that 
John Mark should accompany them in this journey; but Paul 
would not consent to it: upon which occasion these two apostles 
separated. Paul went to Asia, and Barnabas, with John Mark, 
to the Isle of Cyprus. What John Mark did after this journey 
we do not know, till we find him at Rome in the year 63, 
performing signal service for St. Paul during his imprisonment. 

The apostle speaks advantageously of him in his epistle to 
the Collossians: "Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, salute th 
you. If he cometh unto you, receive him." He makes men- 
tion of him again in his epistle to Philemon, written in the 
year 62, at which time he was with St. Paul at Rome; but in 
the year 65 he was with Timothy in Asia. And St. Paul wri- 
ting to Timothy, desires him to bring Marcus to Rome; ad- 
ding, that he was useful for him in the ministry of the Gospel. 

In the Greek and Latin churches, the festival of John Mark 
is kept on the 27th of September. Some say that he was 
bishop of Biblis, in Phoenicia; the Greeks give him the title 
of apostle; and say that the sick were cured by his shadow 
only. It is very probable that he died at Ephesus, where his 
tomb was very much celebrated and resorted to. He is some- 
times called simply John or Mark. The year of his death we 
are strangers to; and shall not collect all that is said of him in 
apocryphal and uncertain authors. 



CLEMENT. 



Clement is mentioned by St. Paul, in his epistle to the Phi- 
lippians, where the apostle says that Clement's name is written 
in the book of life. The generality of the fathers, and other 
interpreters, make no question but that this is the same Clement 
who succeeded St. Peter after Linus and Cletus, in the govern- 
ment of the church of Rome; and this seems to be intimated, 
when in the office of St. Clement's day, that church appoints 
this part of the epistle to the Philippians to be read. 



550 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



We find several things relating to Clement's life in the re- 
cognitions and constitutions called apostolical; but as those 
works are not looked upon as authentic, though there may be 
truths in them derived from the tradition of the first ages, little 
stress is to be laid upon their testimony. St. Chrysostom thinks 
that Clement, mentioned by St. Paul in his epistle to the Phil- 
ippians, was one of the apostle's constant fellow-travelers. Irc- 
nseus, Origen, Clemens of Alexandria, and others of the an- 
cients assert, that Clement was a disciple of the apostles; that 
he had seen them and heard their instructions. St. Epiphanius, 
Jerome, Rufinus, Bede, and some others, were of opinion, that 
as the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, could not be continually 
at Rome, by reason of the frequent journeys which they were 
obliged to make to other places, and it was not proper that the 
city of Rome should be without a bishop, there was a necessity 
to supply the want of them by establishing Linus, Anaclet, and 
Clement there. The constitutions inform us, that Linus was or- 
dained by St. Paul; Tertullian and Epiphanius say, that St. 
Peter ordained Clement. Rufinus tells us, that this apostle 
chose St. Clement for his successor. But Epiphanius believes, 
that after he had been made bishop of Rome by St. Peter, he 
refused to exercise his office, till, after the death of Linus and 
Anaclet, he was obliged to take upon himself the care of the 
church; and this is the most generally received opinion. St. 
Peter's immediate successor was Linus: Linus was succeeded 
by Anacletus; and Anacletus by Clement, in the year of Christ 
91, which was the tenth of Domitian's reign. 

During his pontificate, the church of Corinth having been 
disturbed by a spirit of division, St. Clement wrote a large let- 
ter to the Corinthians, which is still extant, and was so much 
esteemed by the ancients, that they read it publicly in many 
churches; and some have been inclined to range it among the 
canonical writers. The emperor Domitian intended to declare 
war against the church of Christ: his design was made known 
to Hermas, and he ordered to give a copy of it to Clement, 
that he might communicate it to other churches, and exhort 
them to provide against the storm. We have no certain ac- 
count of what happened to St. Clement, during this persecu- 
tion: but we are very well assured that he lived to the third 
year of Trajan. His festival is set down by Bede, and all the 
Latin Martyrologies, on the twenty-third of November. The 
Greeks honor him on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of the 
same month. Rufinus, and pope Zozimus, give him the title 
of Martyr; and the Roman church, in its canon, places him 
among the saints who have sacrificed their lives for Jesus 
Christ. We read in an ancient history, to the authenticity of 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 551 

which, however, there are some exceptions, that St. Clement 
was banished bj Trajan to the Chersonesus, beyond the Euxine 
Sea: besides other particulars in the history which we shall not 
mention, as not being well authenticated. 



MARY MAGDALENE. 



Mary Magdalene was a native either of Magdala, a town in 
Galilee, on the other side of Jordan, or Magdalos, a town situa- 
ted at the foot of Mount Carmel, and had her surname from the 
place of her birth. Some will have it that she was the sinner 
mentioned by St. Luke, chap. vii. 37, &c, but this opinion is 
built only on conjecture. The Evangelists Luke and Mark tell 
us, that Jesus had cast out of her seven devils; which some under- 
stand in a literal, and others in a figurative sense. 

But however this be, she became a constant attendant on the 
blessed Jesus, after he had removed her plague. She followed 
him to Mount Calvary, continued amidst the Roman guards at 
the foot of the cross, with the holy Virgin, and saw his precious 
body laid in the tomb. After which she returned to Jerusalem, 
to purchase spices to embalm him, as soon as the sabbath was 
over. 

It was she who carried the welcome tidings to Peter and 
John; and to her our blessed Lord himself first appeared after 
his resurrection. The apostles did not, however, believe her 
report till it was confirmed by others, and they themselves had 
seen the Saviour of the world. 

We have no further account of Mary Magdalene in the sa- 
cred writings. But Modestus, archbishop of Constantinople, in 
the seventh century, tells us, that she continued at Jerusalem 
till the death of the holy Virgin, after which she retired to 
Ephesus, and resided with St. John till she sealed the faith she 
had so long professed with her blood. She was buried by the 
Christians at Ephesus, where her tomb was shown in the seventh 
century. 

But the emperor, Leo the Wise, caused her body to be re- 
moved from Ephesus to Constantinople, the latter end of the 
ninth century, in order to its being interred in the church erected 
to the honor of the apostles. 



552 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Thus have we given the fullest account of the followers of 
the blessed Jesus ; the persons who spread the light of the Gos- 
pel over the whole world, removed the veil of ignorance and 
superstition drawn over the kingdoms of the earth, and taught 
us the method of attaining eternal happiness in the courts of 
the New Jerusalem. 

May we all follow their glorious example ! May we imitate 
their faith, their piety, their charity, and their love ! Then 
shall we pass "through things temporal in such a manner, 
that we shall finally gain the things eternal,*' and through the 
merits of an all-perfect Redeemer, be admitted as worthy guests 
at the Marriage supper of the Lamb. 



THE 

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



An account of the Troubles of the Jews, particularly those Ca- 
lamities which fell upon them at the time of the Destruction 
of Jerusalem, 

As the history on which we are now about to enter is uncom- 
monly interesting, there is a peculiar propriety in our recapitu- 
lating such circumstances as may be necessary for our more per- 
fect understanding of it. The reader will easily recollect, that 
from the time of Judas Maccabeus, the Jewish nation was gov- 
erned by the Asmonean family, who united the sanctity of the 
priesthood with the authority of the chief magistrate, till, in 
consequence of domestic dissensions, they were reduced to a 
state of subjection to the Roman republic, an event which took 
place in the sixty-third year before the Christian era. They still, 
however, retained some shadow of royalty till the year A. C. 37, 
when Jerusalem was taken by Herod, and Antigonus, the last 
of the Asmonean race, committed to a close imprisonment. The 
reign of Herod, splendid, vigorous, and bloody, continued till 
a little after the birth of Christ, that is, about three years before 
the commencement of the common account. 

Herod had nine wives, the first of whom, named Doris, was 
the mother of Antipater, who is stigmatized as the worst of all 
Herod's sons, and was put to death for treason during the last 
sickness of his father. The second of them was Mariamne, the 
daughter of Simon, the high-priest. By this excellent princess 
he had a son, whom Josephus names Herod, and Luke, Philip, 
the husband of that Herodias on whose account John the Bap- 
tist was beheaded. The third, who was his brother's daughter, 
and the fourth, who was his first cousin, both of them died 
childless. The fifth wife was Martac, a Samaritan, by whom he 
had Archelaus and Antipas; the former succeeded him in the 
half of the kingdom, under the name of Tetrarch ; and the lat- 
ter called also Philip, was Tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, 

553 



554 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



and married Salome, the daughter of Herodias, who demanded 
the head of John the Baptist as the reward of her dancing. — 
This prince died without issue. Herod's sixth wife, Cleopatra, 
who was a native of Jerusalem, had two sons, Herod Antipas 
and Philip. Herod Antipas was he that married Herodias, his 
brother Philip's wife, ordered the execution of John, and com- 
manded his soldiers to insult our Saviour. Pallas, the seventh 
wife, had a son named Phasael. The eighth was Phaedra, by 
whom he had only one daughter named Roxana. And by the 
last, called Elpis, he had another daughter called Salome. 

Aristobulus, the son of the beloved Mariamne, left two sons, 
Agrippa, who is in the Acts called Herod, and noted as the 
persecutor of the Christians ; Herod, king of Calais, a prov- 
ince of Syria; and a daughter named Herodius. Agrippa was 
the father of that king Agrippa before whom Paul pleaded, his 
sister Berenice, and Drucilla, the wife of Felix. 

It has been already mentioned that the land of Israel was now 
considered as an appendage of Syria, and divided into four 
parts, called Tetrarchies. Of these, Herod Antipas governed 
Galilee and Perea, or the country beyond Jordan. Philip, the 
son of Martac, occupied Iturea and Trachonitis, a rocky coun- 
try, which afforded great shelter to robbers. Lysanias was Te- 
trach of Abilene; and Pontius Pilate was the procurator, or 
Roman Governor of Judea. 

The government of Pilate appears to have been uncommonly 
bloody and oppressive ; yet as Dr. Lardner observes, that they 
had according to the sacred writers, the free exercise of their 
religion, is evident from the whole tenor of the history contained 
in the Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles ; they had their 
synagogues ; the law and the prophets were read there ; our 
Saviour taught in the synagogues ; whenever he healed any le- 
pers, he bade them go and show themselves to the priests, and 
offer the gifts that Moses commanded. 

The Jews were, at this time, divided into several sects, among 
which, the most distinguished were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, 
and the Essenes. 

The Pharisees are generally supposed to have derived their 
name from a Chaldaic word, which signifies to separate, because 
they separated themselves from the rest of the Jews, leading a 
more austere life, and professing a greater degree of holiness, 
and more religious observation of the law. They paid great def- 
erence to their elders, whom they never presumed to contradict, 
and possessed a high reputation on account of their supposed 
equity, temperance, and wisdom. They held that fate governed 
all things, but not in so absolute a manner as to exclude the 
operations of the human will : that the soul was immortal, and 
reserved for a future state of rewards and punishments. Most of 



HISTOKY OF THE JEWS. 



555 



the Jews of the present day, adhere to the Pharisaic doctrine, 
though they do not generally praise their extreme austerity of 
life. 

The Sadducees generally consisted of persons of the greatest 
opulence and distinction ; and though they attended on the tem- 
pi 3 worship, were generally considered as a kind of deists or free- 
thinkers. They accustomed themselves to investigate every thing, 
and dispute freely with their teachers. He says, that when they 
were advanced to public offices, they were obliged to conduct 
themselves as Pharisees, in order to secure the favor of the 
people. 

Tne Essenes were less ambitious of public distinction than 
either of the other sects, and in consequence, are not mention- 
ed in the Xew Testament. 

The critics and commentators upon the New Testament are 
much divided with regard to the Herodians, some making them 
to be a political party, and others a religious sect. The for- 
mer opinion is favored by the author of the Syriac version, who 
calls them the domestics of Herod ; and also by Josephus, who 
passes them over in silence, though he professes to give an ac- 
count of the several religious sects of the Jews. 

Directly opposed to the Herodians were the Galileans, who 
are considered by Josephus as the fourth Jewish sect. They 
derived their origin from a bloody insurgent, Judas of Galilee, 
who rebelled about the time of the taxing, and excited the peo- 
ple to resist the payment of any tribute to the Romans. They 
were nearly akin to the Pharisees, being principally distinguish- 
ed by their holding the maxim of uncontrollable liberty. They 
acknowledged no superior but God ; and rather than call any 
man master, were ready to submit to the most excruciating death. 

Such was the religious state of the Jews under the govern- 
ment of Pilate. In our Life of -Christ, we continued his his- 
tory till the crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God. An 
opinion prevailed among the ancient Christians, that, as Pilate 
consented unwillingly upon that occasion, so he transmitted to 
the emperor Tiberius a very favorable account of our Saviours 
character. 

To leave, however, this matter undetermined, we proceed to 
observe, that the conduct of Pilate still continued to be the most 
atrocious and bloody imaginable. An event soon after happen- 
ed, which brought his tyranny to a conclusion. An imposter 
appeared in Samaria in the year A. D. 35, a little after the death 
of Stephen, who gave out to the multitude, that if they would 
meet him at Mount Gerizim, he would show them the sacred ves- 
sels which they believed Moses had concealed in that place. 
Vast numbers of ignorant people immediately assembled in arms, 
and laid siege to Tirathaba, a village in tiiat vicinity, waiting 

64 



556 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



for others to join them there, who would, they expected, enable 
them to form a sufficient body to go up and take possession of 
the pretended holy treasure. Pilate, who had received timely 
information, collected a large body of cavalry and infantry, and 
took possession of the mountain, whence he attacked the Sama- 
ritans, routed them with great slaughter, and brought off a con- 
siderable number of prisoners, the most distinguished of whom 
he ordered to be beheaded. Chagrined by this defeat and its 
bloody consequences, the chief persons among the Samaritans 
made application to Vitellius, Governor of Syria, insisting that 
Pilate had been guilty of murder, in putting to death men that 
had not armed to oppose the Roman authority, but only to re- 
sist his outrageous oppression. On receiving this complaint 
Vitellius dispatched his friend Marcellius to take upon him the 
government of Judea, and commanded Pilate to repair immedi- 
ately to Rome, to answer for his conduct at the tribunal of Cae- 
sar. Josephus has informed us nothing further concerning Pi- 
late, than that Tiberius died while he was performing his voy- 
age, and that the loss of his government was only the forerun- 
ner of greater evils. There is, however, an ancient tradition 
that he was banished to Vienne, in Gaul ; and Eusebius asserts, 
from the authority of some Greek annalists, that he became his 
own executioner. 

In a former chapter of this work, we mentioned that a war was 
carried on between Herod Antipas and Aretas, in consequence of 
Herod's divorcing the daughter of Aretas, that he might gratify 
his passion for Herodias. The army of Herod being defeated 
by the Arabian Prince, Vitellius was commanded to assist the 
former, and accordingly marched towards Petra with two legions 
of Roman auxiliaries. When he had got as far as Ptolemais, 
and was on the point of crossing Judea, he was met by the prin- 
cipal people of the country, who most earnestly solicited him that 
he would take a different route; for that the Jewish law was in- 
sulted, and their religion profaned, by the images that the Ro- 
mans usually carry in their colors. This reason had its proper 
weight with the general, who directed that his army should march 
about by the way of a large plain; and, in the mean time, he 
took with him Herod, the Tetrarch, and several other friends, 
who went up to Jerusalem to worship on occasion of a solemn 
festival which was then approaching. He made three days' stay 
in this city ; during which time he was treated with all possible 
marks of honor and respect ; and while he remained there, he 
deprived Jonathan of the office of high-priest, and conferred it 
on his brother Theophilus ; and, on the fourth day, he received 
letters which announced the death of Tiberius : whereupon he 
caused the people to swear allegiance to his successor, Caius Ca- 
ligula ; and this being done, he gave orders for the recal of his 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



557 



troops, and directed that they should go into winter quarters, 
the change in the government having determined him to put a 
period to the war ; and after this he returned to Antioch. 

The accession of Caligula was an event of the greatest im- 
portance to another branch of the Herodian family — Agrippa, 
the son of Aristobulus, one of the two unfortunate princes, the 
sons of Herod the Great, by Mariamne, the Asmonean. The 
early life of Agrippa had been a strange course of adventure and 
vicissitude. On his father's execution, he was sent to Rome, 
where he enjoyed the favor of Antonia, the widow of the elder 
Drusus. the brother of Tiberius. Antonia entertained a sincere 
friendship for Berenice, the mother of Agrippa, and under her 
protection the young Idumean prince attached himself to the 
person of Drusus, the son of Tiberius. Agrippa inherited the 
profusion, but not the wealth, of the Herodian race. On his 
mother's death, he speedily dissipated his whole property, and 
found himself overwhelmed with debts. His associate, Drusus, 
died ; and Tiberius issued orders that none of the youth's inti- 
mate companions should be admitted into his presence, lest they 
should awaken the melancholy recollection of his beloved son. 
Agrippa, in the utmost distress, retreated to his native land, and 
took up his residence at Malatha, an insignificant village in Idu- 
maea. He subsequently passed through many changes of for- 
tune, related with much interest by Josephus, in which he suf- 
fered successively by jealousy, indigence and arrest. But his 
mother's friend, Antonia, still protected him. She lent him a 
sum sufficient to discharge his debt to the imperial treasury, and 
Agrippa was reinstated in the favor of Tiberius. The emperor 
recommended him to attach himself to the person of his grand- 
son, the younger Tiberius ; but the Jewish prince, with better 
fortune or judgment, preferred that of Caius Caligula. In this 
state of advancement, he borrowed a million didrachms of Thal- 
lus, a Samaritan freedman of Cassar, and repaid his debt to 
Antonia. Unfortunately, one day when he was riding with Ca- 
ligula in a chariot, he expressed aloud his earnest petition to Pro- 
vidence, that Tiberius might speedily be removed, in order to 
make room for a more worthy successor. The speech was over- 
heard by Eutychus, a freedman, the driver of the chariot. Ti- 
berius was already offended at the court paid by Agrippa to the 
young Caius] and suddenly, in the public circus, commanded 
Macron, the captain of his guard, " to put that man in chains." 
Macron, surprised at the sudden change, delayed the execution 
of the command-, till Tiberius returning to the same spot, he 
demanded against whom the order was directed. The emperor 
sternly pointed to Agrippa, and notwithstanding his humble 
supplications, the heir of the Asmonean princes, clad as he was 
in the royal purple, was put in fetters, like a common malefactor. 



558 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



Even in this fallen condition, Antonia did not desert the son of 
her friend Berenice; she obtained for him some mitigation of the 
discomforts and privations of his prison.' At length his release 
arrived. Immediately on the death of Tiberius, Marsyas, his 
faithful freed-slave,-hastened to his masters dungeon, and com- 
municated the joyful intelligence, saying in the Hebrew lan- 
guage, "The lion is dead." With the morning the news was 
confirmed, and shortly after, Caligula entered P„ome in imperial 
state. On the very day of his entry, but for the prudence of 
Antonia, he would have commanded the release of his fiiend. — 
A short time after, he sent the order for his liberation, received 
him at his court, and conferred on him the vacant Tetrarchate 
of Philip, with the title of king. He presented him likewise 
with a chain of gold, of the same weight with that of iron, with 
which he had been fettered. 

Agrippa remained that year in Rome; during the next, the 
second of Caligula's reign, he arrived in Palestine with royal 
pomp, to take possession of his dignity. 

Up to the reign of Caligula the Jews had enjoyed without any 
serious interruption, the universal toleration, which Roman poli- 
cy permitted to the religion of the subject states. 

The character of Caius Caligula is well known to all who 
are in the slightest degree acquainted with Roman history. It 
was he who wished that the whole Roman people had but one 
neck, that he might break it at once. It is scarcely too much to 
affirm, that he had all the follies which could degrade, and all 
the vices which could contaminate human nature. Yet his vanity 
was so great, that he was disposed to account himself a god, and 
lay claim to the honors which the heathens were accustomed to 
render to their deities of the first order, such as Mercury, Apollo, 
and Mars. The Jews, therefore, were the only people who, by 
their tenacious opposition to the emperor's absurd requests, were 
likely to draw down upon their heads the tempest of his indigna- 
tion. He accordingly made no secret of his enmity against them, 
and the animosity which he entertained soon diffused its influence 
through the different provinces of the empire. 

The inhabitants of Alexandria no sooner gained intelligence 
of the emperors disposition, than they began a most violent per- 
secution, in consequence of wiiich, the Jews of Alexandria de- 
termined to send an embassy to Rome, to deprecate the wrath of 
Caligula. Caius was, however, so effectually wrought upon by 
Egyptian flatterers, who composed a part of his household, that 
he not only treated the ambassadors with the most mortifying con- 
tempt, but sent orders to Petronius, the governor of Syria, to 
erect his statue in the sanctuary at Jerusalem. 

Petronius appears to have been a prudent and humane man. 
This last action having alarmed the nation, he was obliged to 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



559 



tell them the orders that he had received from Caligula: upon 
which he was addressed by all the heads of the Jews, who as- 
sured him, in the humblest manner, that they would sooner haz- 
ard the loss of all that was dear to them, even their lives, than 
suifer their temple to be thus profaned. 

About this time, however, king Agrippa happening at Rome, 
gave a sumptuous feast to the emperor: and while his guest was 
warm with wine, embraced an opportunity to interpose a petition 
in favor of the Jews. This petition, which showed not only the 
greatest disinterestedness, but also the most unfeigned love for 
his country and religion, even at the hazard of his life, had such 
an effect on that emperor, that he wrote immediately to his gov- 
ernor, that if his statue was not already set up, he should for- 
bear doing it — adding, that he had altered his design out of 
friendship to Agrippa. However, the lightness of his temper 
soon made him repent of his complaisance to him, so that he 
designed to make a second attempt unknown to him. At the 
same time, his resentment against Petronius being kindled afresh, 
he sent him an order to dispatch himself: but Caius Calagula was 
assassinated time enough to prevent either mischief taking effect. 

Agrippa, who still remained at Rome, was very serviceable to 
Claudius in promoting his accession to the empire: in considera- 
tion of which, the emperor confirmed to him all the grants of 
Caligula. 

Returning to Judea, he determined to practice every thing 
which could render him acceptable to the Jews. Still further to 
gratify the Jews, we have already seen in another part of this 
work, he commenced a bloody persecution amongst the Chris- 
tians, but was cut off by Providence in the midst of his pride, 
an awful monument of the divine displeasure. His reign afford- 
ed a short gleam of sunshine to the Jews, whose dark night of 
calamity was now rapidly approaching. 

Agrippa's surviving family consisted of a son of his own name, 
aged seventeen years: and three daughters, Berenice, Mariamne, 
and DrusiUa. 

The death of king Agrippa was no sooner made known to the 
ublic, than the inhabitants of Caesarea and Sebaste, loaded 
is memory with the most scandalous and opprobious epithets 
that their imaginations could possiblj invent. Soldiers at those 
place?, in aid of the calumny, took the statues of Agrippa's three 
daughters from the palace, and conveved them in triumph to pub- 
lic brothels, with brutish terms of reproach that are too infamous 
for repetition. 

Claudius, who at first had determined to put the young Agrip- 
pa in possession of his father's kingdom, was induced to change 
his mind, and thereon deputed Cuspus Fadus to the command; 
but paid so great a respect to the memory of the deceased, that 



560 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



he strictly charged him to punish severely the inhabitants of Ca3- 
sarea and Sebaste, on account of the indignities they had offered 
to Agrippa and his daughters. 

During Fadus' government, .there arose a notable imposter 
named Theudas, who drew great numbers of the deluded Jews 
after him, bidding them follow him beyond Jordan, and promis- 
ing them that he would divide the waters of that river as Josh- 
ua had done, by his single word. Cuspius sent some troops of 
horse and foot against him and his followers, killed some of them, 
took others prisoners, and amongst them Theudas himself, whom 
he caused to be beheaded, and his head to be brought to Jerusa- 
lem. This, according to Josephus, is the most remarkable thing 
that happened during Fadus' government. 

He was soon after succeeded by Tiberius Alexander, an apos- 
tate Jew, of the sacerdotal race, and nephew to the famous Philo. 
One of his first exploits was the crucifying James and Simon, the 
sons of Judas, surnamed Galileus, head of the Gaulonitish sect. 

Herod of Chalcis being dead, Agrippa, the son of Agrippa, 
was advanced by the emperor to the kingdom of his uncle; and 
that of Judea was governed by Cumanus, who succeeded Tibe- 
rius Alexander. During the administration of the latter, many 
fresh misfortunes overtook the Jews. While the people were as- 
sembled in prodigious numbers at the festival of unleavened 
bread, one of the soldiers stationed at the gate of the temple to 
prevent disorders, insultingly exposed his nakedness to the as- 
sembly. This inflamed the multitude; they demanded justice on 
the soldier for the insult; and, amongst the rest, some violent 
young men proceeded to high words and quarrelling. Cumanus, 
fearing an insurrection, sent other soldiers to support the former, 
which occasioned such a terror to the Jews, that they endeavored 
all in their power to get out of the temple; but the throng was 
so great in the passages, that near ten thousand were pressed or 
trod to death. This circumstance turned the Jewish festival into 
mourning; there were tears and lamentations in every house; for 
the calamity was so general, that almost every family shared in it. 

No sooner was this misfortune ended, than it was succeeded 
by another. A soldier happening to meet with the books of 
Moses, tore and threw them in the fire. Affronted by this in- 
sult, the Jews repaired to Cumanus in Caesarea, and urged him, 
in the most violent manner to punish the author of so daring an 
outrage on the law of God. Cumanus, finding that the people 
would not be appeased, ordered the soldier to be put to death in 
their presence; and thus the tumult subsided. 

Claudius, in the twelfth year of his reign, constituted Felix, 
brother of Pallax, governor of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and 
Perea, in the place of Cumanus. He advanced Agrippa from 
the kingdom of Chalcis to a better government, giving him 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



561 



likewise Trachonitis, Batanea, with the tetrarchy that Varus had 
held, and the kingdom of Lysanias. 

This happened in the year fifty-four, soon after which the em- 
peror Claudius died, and was succeeded by Xero. 

Agrippa after his last mentioned promotion, gave his sister 
Brasilia, who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, to Azizus, 
king of the Emesenes. Soon after their union, a separation took 
place between Drusilla and Azizus. She was admired as the most 
beautiful woman of her time, and Felix, the governor of Judea, 
became violently enamored of her; prevailed uponher to renounce 
her religion, abandon her husband and marry him. By Felix, 
Drusilla had a son, named Agrippa, who, in the time of Titus 
Cassar, together with his wife, fell a sacrifice to a violent erup- 
tion of Mount Vesuvius. 

Felix was no sooner vested with his authority, than he made 
war on the robbers who had now infested the country for twenty 
years. The number of thieves killed, taken prisoners, and exe- 
cuted, including the country people who joined them, was incred- 
ibly great. 

These miscreants being routed, another set of villains appear- 
ed, who were called Sicarii, from Sica, the poignard used by 
them. These used to commit murders in the open streets of Je- 
rusalem, particularly when the city was crowded on public days. 
They carried short daggers under their clothes, and privately 
stabbed those against whom they had an enmity. This practice 
was continued some time before the authors of it were suspected. 
The citizens were so alarmed, that their apprehensions aggrava- 
ted the reality; every man at a distance was suspected for an 
enemy, and the people were afraid of their approaching friends. 

Another set now arose, false prophets and Messiah's, jugglers 
and imposters, whose tongues were as mischievous as the wea- 
pons of the former, contaminating the minds of the people. 
Felix, foreseeing that this plan tended to foment a rebellion, 
great numbers of the enthusiasts were destroyed. 

It was at this time that that Egyptian rebelled who is referred 
to in the Acts, and whose history is recorded in a former chapter. 

The robbers and magicians now concerted too with each other 
how they should engage the people to shake off the Roman 
yoke, and assert an absolute liberty, so that Judea was reduced 
to the utmost degree of confusion and despair. 

The city of Caesarea, about this time, began to be the scene 
of transactions which not a little accelerated the destruction of 
the Jewish state. 

A contention arose between the Cesarean Jews and the Syri- 
ans on the extent of certain privileges of citizenship; the Jews of 
Csesarea asserting their preference in the right of Herod their 
king, as the original founder of the city. The Syrians insisted 



562 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



that, previous to the establishment of the city of Herod, and of 
its being inhabited by Jews, the place had existed under the de- 
nomination of the tower of Straton. 

The faction grew at length to violence. It was quelled by the 
punishment of offenders; was revived again, and again repulsed 
with the loss, as usual, of many of the Jews. Felix, finally, in 
order more completely to terminate this sedition, desired the 
leading men of both parties to visit Nero in the capacity of com- 
missioners, and plead the cause of their friends. Soon after 
this, the emperor transferred the government to Portius Festus. 

At this time, two distinguished Syrians of Csesarea, by the 
aid of Beryllus, Greek secretary to Nero, procured the empe- 
ror's mandate for depriving the Jews of the privileges and im- 
munities of the city of Csesarea, which they claimed in common 
with the Syrians. This mandate is to be considered as the cause 
of all the miseries which the Jews afterwards experienced: for 
the Caesarean Jews were thereby inflamed to greater violence, 
nor did their restless dispositions subside till they were involved in 
all the calamities of an open war. 

Upon the arrival of Festus in Judea, he found the country 
ravaged and laid waste, the people compelled to desert their hab- 
itations, the land over-run by great numbers of robbers, who set 
fire to and plundered houses, and committed every other kind of 
enormity without control. 

An event occurred about this time, which is characteristic of 
the spirit which then actuated the Jewish nation. Near the porch 
of the royal palace at Jerusalem, king Agrippa erected a high 
apartment which commanded a view of the city; and from which 
might be perceived all that passed in the temple. This circum- 
stance highly offended the Jews, who therefore erected a wall 
intercepting the view. Agrippa and Festus in vain gave orders 
for the demolition of the wall; but they replied that they would 
sooner relinquish their lives than commit any violence against 
their temple. The affair was not settled short of an appeal to 
Nero, who was induced to authorize its continuance. 

Upon the death of Festus, Nero conferred the government 
upon Albinus. 

Albinus is described by Josephus as a man abandoned to every 
vice. Avarice, corruption, extortion, oppression, public and 
private, were equally familiar to him. He accepted bribes in 
civil and personal causes, and oppressed the nation by the weight 
of arbitrary taxes. If any offender, however atrocious, was un- 
der sentence of the law, a friend and a bribe would ensure his 
liberty. The injured dare not complain: those who were in any 
danger of losing their property, were glad to compound to save 
the rest, and the receivers proved the worst of thieves. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



563 



At this period of misrule, the singing men of the tribe of 
Levi petitioned Agrippa for permission to use the linen stole, 
which only the priests had then a right to wear. The king 
granted their petition with the usual formalities; and the other 
Levites who served in the temple he permitted to officiate as sing- 
ers. The grant of these privileges was contrary to the laws 
and customs of the Jewish nation, which, Josephus observes, 
have never been violated with impunity. 

About this time, that is, A. D. 63, the work of the temple 
was completed, which had been carried on ever since the time of 
Herod. Eighteen thousand workmen had been engaged in the 
execution of this labor; these men becoming destitute of employ- 
ment, they were employed by Agrippa in paving the streets of 
Jerusalem with white stones. 

The temple of Jerusalem, begun in the eighteenth year of 
Herod's reign and now finished, had been to the Jews rather the 
object of their hopes than of their expectations; for they thought 
it almost impossible that such a work should be completed. 

There were engaged in this work, a hundred carriages to re- 
move stones and other materials; of handcraftsmen of all sorts 
there were ten thousand artists, and of these the best that could 
be procured; and, for the superintendence of them, a thousand 
priests that understood the business of masonry and carpentry; 
supplied with robes and vestments at the king's expense. Of the 
superstructure of the temple, the length was a hundred cubits, 
and the height one hundred and twenty. The whole building 
was a composition of durable white stone, each stone being 
eight cubits high, twelve broad, and twenty-five in length. 

The principal front of this extraordinary building had very 
much the appearance of a palace, the centre part of which was 
much higher than the sides. The prospect it afforded towards 
the fields was extremely agreeable, and this prospect extended 
into the country several furlongs; nor was the view of the build- 
ing itself less pleasing. The porch of the temple was a curiosity 
no less singular than the rest of the building, the upper part of 
it being adorned with an abundance of the richest tapestry hang- 
ing, a variety of beautiful purple flowers and pillars appearing to 
be interwoven; round the pillars a golden vine crept and en- 
twined itself, on the branches of which were suspended clusters 
of grapes that descended in elegant negligence from the cornices 
of the room; the whole exhibited a piece of workmanship no 
less valuable for the materials with which it was formed, than for 
the admirable skill with which it was executed. 

Near this city nature had placed a steep rocky hill, but on the 
eastward side of it the descent was greatly sloping. Now Solo- 
mon, in former ages, had, by the particular command of God, 
surrounded this hillock with a wall, and the lower extremity of 

65 



564 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

it was encompassed by another wall, under which, towards the 
south, was a deep valley. This was composed of stones of im- 
mense size, cramped together with iron round the whole work, 
and extending down to the bottom of the hill. This work was 
built in a square form, and was deemed a most extraordinary 
piece of architecture, allowance being made for its depth and 
magnitude. 

When this wall was built up to its proper height, the space 
between that and the lull was filled up with earth, so as to bring 
the ground upon a level with the wall; and then were erected 
four galleries, each gallery being deemed a furlong in extent. 
Within the square, likewise, there was another stone wall, which 
extended round the top of the hill, and was ornamented with a 
double porch on the east side, which was opposite to the portal 
of the temple which stood in the middle. Several princes con- 
tributed to adorn this portal by many tokens of their royal 
bounty; and round about various parts of the temple were hung 
the spoils and trophies which had been acquired in battles with 
the barbarians. 

A strong and well fortified building stood on one of the angles 
of the north side, to which was given the name of Baris, or the 
Tower; and herein were deposited the pontifical habits, which, 
agreeable to ancient custom, were never to be brought forth but 
when the high-priest wanted them for his immediate use in the 
exercise of his office. 

Before the middle inclosure was placed the altar where the 
priests offered up their sacrifices. This place was so sacred, that 
even Herod himself durst not enter into it, since the law prohib- 
ited him from so doing, as he was not a priest. For this reason, 
Herod committed the care of this part of the sacred work to the 
priests; and they completed it in the space of eighteen months,- 
whereas, Herod himself, in superintending the completion of the 
rest employed no less time than eight years. 

The temple being thus restored, the circumstance was cele- 
brated by every demonstration of the sincerest joy. 

The character of Florus, who succeeded Albinus in the year 
sixty-four, was so much more abandoned than that of his prede- 
cessor, that Albinus seemed innocent on the comparison. His 
conduct in his province was more like that of an executionei 
than a governor; for he treated all the people like criminals, and 
extended his rapine and tyranny beyond all bounds. His avarice 
was carried to so extravagant a pitch, that the inhabitants of the 
province were reduced to a degree of poverty little short of starv- 
ing, and many of them left the country in absolute want of the 
necessaries of life. 

Cestius Gallus, who had at this time command in Syria, hap- 
pening in Jerusalem at the feast of unleavened bread, a number 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



565 



of Jews, not less than three hundred thousand, applied to him to 
have compassion on a wretched people, and relieve the province 
from the infamous government of Florus. This proceeding was 
immediately made known to Florus, who was so far from being 
concerned at it, that he made a perfect jest of the affair. Fear- 
ing, however, that the cause would be brought before Csesar, he 
set about how he could incite them to a revolt, and cover his own 
crimes by gradually forcing them into a rebellion. 

At this time, the Greeks of Cassarea had carried their cause 
against the Jews before Caesar, who had pronounced sentence in 
their behalf; a circumstance which was the origin of the Jewish 
war. This sentence is dated in the month of Artemisius, in the 
seventeenth of the reign of Agrippa, and the twelfth of Nero. 

A certain Greek in that city, in mere malice, crowded a num- 
ber of small shops into a passage, which almost blocked up the 
way to the synagogue, leaving barely sufficient room for a single 
person to pass. Affronted by this insult, some Jewish young 
men, in the heat of passion, went to the workmen, and warned 
them to proceed at their peril. This order of theirs was coun- 
termanded by Florus, whom the Jews now therefore thought it 
necessary to soften by means of a bribe. They contracted with 
Florus to forbid the building on the receipt of eight talents. The 
governor took the money, and promised to give the necessary 
directions; but he had no sooner received it, than he went from 
Cassarea to Sebaste, as if on purpose to increase the dispute, and 
as if he triumphed in the opportunity he gave them of murdering 
each other. 

The Jewish sabbath falling on the following day, a malicious 
Caesarean placed an earthern vessel with a sacrifice of birds upon 
it before the door of the synagogue, while the people were as- 
sembled within at their devotions. The Jews lost all patience at 
the profane derision; nor were the Cassareans less forward to 
come to an encounter. 

Jucundus, a captain of horse, arrived at the critical juncture; 
he did all in his power to quell the disturbance. The Jews find- 
ing that the Caesareans were too powerful for Jucundus, took the 
books of their law, and conveyed them to the province of Nar- 
bata, at the distance of about sixty furlongs from Caesarea, while 
ten of their principal people were sent to Florus, petitioning for 
redress. He instantly ordered them into custody. 

In the mean time, Florus continued to foment the sedition; 
and, that he might do it the more effectually, he sent and de- 
manded seventeen talents out of the treasury, for the service of 
the emperor. This circumstance, as was expected, caused the 
Jews to pursue the name of Florus with curses, clamor, and every 
kind of insult. Florus thereupon marched with a body of horse 
and foot to Jerusalem, where he made the power of Rome sub- 



566 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



servient to his revenge and avarice ; and filled the minds of the 
people wherever he went with terror and apprehension. 

At this time Florus resided in the palace; and, on the follow- 
ing day he ascended the tribunal, and positively demanded that 
the authors of the insulting speeches made in his name, should be 
delivered up; threatening, at the same time, that he would be re- 
venged on those in the place, if the guilty were not surrendered. 
To this the Jews replied, that the majority of their people were 
peaceable; and with regard to those who had spoken freely, they 
intreated pardon for them, rather than that the unoffending 
should be destroyed in revenge of the insult of the guilty few. 

All the effect this reasoning had on Florus, was to increase his 
rage, and he ordered the soldiers to the great market to pillage 
the place, and kill all they should encounter. The soldiers not 
only executed their orders, but made equally free with every 
house, and destroyed the inhabitants without distinction. It is 
estimated that six hundred and thirty persons were sacrificed on 
that day, including men, women, and children; for even infants 
at their mother's breast were not spared. 

On the following day, the people assembled for revenge. But 
the high-priests and men of eminence rent their garments, and 
going among the people, entreated them to desist. The passions 
of the people now began to subside, partly through respect to 
the mediators, and partly in the hope that the malice of the gov- 
ernor was at an end. 

This return of peace, however, was painful to Florus, who be- 
gan to consider how he might foment a new disturbance. With 
this view, he sent for the high priests and principal men: informed 
them that two companies were coming from Caesarea, and de- 
manded that the people should go out and meet them on the way. 

The priests and Levites could scarcely persuade the Jews to 
this step, and not at all until they had held up to view the holy 
vessels, and other precious ornaments of the temple, which would 
probably be rifled by the Romans if they should be irritated. 
And when they at last consented, their salutation was received 
with silent contempt. The more violent, as was expected, began 
immediately to revile Florus. The soldiers as they had been or- 
dered, then instantly attacked the Jews with clubs and cudgels, 
totally routed them, and trampled numbers of them under the 
feet of their horses. Others were crushed to death in the crowd, 
or smothered at the gate; so that, on the whole, the spectacle 
was a dreadful one. The next day Florus made an attempt with 
his soldiers to force into the temple, but the Jews fought so 
bravely that he was compelled to retreat to the palace with the 
remainder of his troops. Apprehending that Florus would re- 
turn to the attack, and make an attempt on the temple by the 
way of fort Antonia, they immediately cut down a gallery which 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



567 



communicated between that fort and the temple. Florus was 
mortified and his avarice disappointed; for his principal view was 
to seize the holy treasure. Leaving therefore a company behind 
him, he returned to Csesarea with the remainder of his army. 

Cestius Gallus, governor of Syria, having obtained information 
of the mode in which Florus had governed, thought it prudent 
previously to send a man of credit and address to inquire into 
facts, and give him a faithful account of the success of his inqui- 
ries. The person fixed on was a tribune, named Politanus. 

Politanus having taken a view of the city, and indisputably 
convinced himself of the loyal disposition of the Jews, he assem- 
bled the people, commended their known fidelity to the Romans; 
and gave them a variety of good counsel and advice respecting 
the preservation of public peace. 

This treatment in conjunction with a speech made to them in 
the gymnasium by Agrippa, succeeded in pacifying the Jews, and 
dissuading them from violent and seditious practices. 

The insurrection having now in a great degree subsided, 
Agrippa advised the people to a patient submission to Florus, till 
another governor should be appointed by Caesar. This again 
inflamed the passions of the people, who treated him with the 
most opprobrious language, and pelted him with stones till he 
was compelled to abandon the city. 

Many of the factious Jews about this time privately entered a 
Roman fortress called Massada, put the garrison to death, and 
introduced in the place of it one of their own. This may be 
considered as the first important warlike transaction in the rebel- 
lion of the Jews, and was regarded by the insurgents as a great 
accession to their strength, since Massada was remarkably strong 
both by nature and art. 

General Revolt of the Jews. 

The rebels were already in possession of the lower town and 
the temple, when Agrippa anxious for the public welfare, dis- 
patched to Jerusalem two thousand horse, to quell the rebellion. 
Frequent skirmishes now ensued. The insurgents made attacks 
in the most desperate manner; but the royal forces appeared to 
have a superior knowledge of the military art. Though there 
was a great slaughter on both sides, not even the least shadow of 
advantage was obtained by either. 

Seven days afterwards, however, at the feast of Xylophoria, 
the insurgents broke into the upper city; supported by the sica- 
rii, and burnt the palaces of Agrippa, and Berenice, together with 
the public records. The castle of Antonia was next carried after 
a siege of two days, the Roman garrison put to the sword, and the 
castle burnt. 



568 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



The rebels gathering strength now proceeded against the royal 
palace of Herod, in which the troops of Agrippa had taken 
sanctuary. Metilius the Roman general, with his soldiers, was 
compelled after a brave defence to capitulate on condition of their 
lives. But they had no sooner given up their arms, than they 
were treacherously massacred to a man. 

This assassination of the Romans took place on the sabbath- 
day, which was deemed a great aggravation of the crime, since 
on that day all labor whatsoever, even the most sacred, is totally 
forbidden to the Jews by their law. 

The Roman power, however, was very little injured by this 
atrocious outrage, since the loss of the troops that were thus de- 
stroyed was inconsiderable, proportioned to the vast armies of 
which they were possessed; but this circumstance was an evident 
prelude to the destruction of the Jews; for an inevitable war was 
actually in view, and that founded on a good cause: the city, 
which had taken the principal share in the dispute, was so cor- 
rupted by perfidy and rebellion, that, admitting it might escape 
the vengeance of the Romans, it was not reasonable to suppose 
but that it must fall a sacrifice to divine justice. The face of af- 
fairs was now more mournful, melancholy, and desponding, than 
it had been at any former period: they who were innocent dread- 
ed to share the fate of the guilty, and feared that they should be 
made answerable for the crimes they had not committed. 

Divine Providence so directed affairs, that on the very day, 
and at the same hour of the above-recited massacre, there was a 
slaughter of the Jews at Caesarea, in which above twenty thou- 
sand persons fell a sacrifice, not a single Jew in the town being 
left alive. The whole nation of the Jews became outrageous on 
occasion of this horrid slaughter; and, dividing themselves into 
distinct bodies, dispersed into different quarters, laying waste the 
villages of Syria, and the adjacent cities, among which were Phil- 
adelphia, Gibonitis, Gerassa, Pella, and Scythopolis. This being 
done, they made their attacks on Gadara, Hippon, and Gaulanitis, 
Ptolemais, Gaba, Ceesarea, Sebaste, Askelon, Anthedon, Gara, 
and the Tyrian Cedasa, some of which places they burnt, and 
levelled others with the ground. 

On the other hand, the Syrians wreaked their vengeance on 
all the Jews they could find in country places, whom they put to 
the sword, and extended the persecution against the inhabitants 
of the several cities. At this time, the condition of Syria was 
far more deplorable than language can describe since, in fact, 
there were in every city two armies; nor was any safety to be 
expected for the one but in the destruction of the other. 

It was a dreadful spectacle to behold the streets filled with the 
bodies of men, women and children, who had been murdered, 
stript, and left, not only unburied, but uncovered. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



569 



At Scythopolis the massacre amounted to thirteen thousand. 
In Askelon two thousand five hundred fell a sacrifice; in Ptole- 
mais two thousand; and many at Tyre, Hippon, and Gadara. 

Cestius remarking the antipathy in which the Jews were every 
where held, took advantage of this circumstance to prosecute the 
war with vigor; hurning villages, and laying waste the adjacent 
country wherever he came. 

He proceeded from Ptolemais to Cassarea, whence he dis- 
patched a division of his army to Joppa, with directions, that if 
they could get an easy possession of the place, they should pre- 
serve it; but if they found that the inhabitants made preparation 
to defend it, in that case, they should wait for the arrival of the 
rest of the army. However, the Romans attacked the place both 
by land and sea, and became masters of it with very little diffi- 
culty; for the inhabitants were so far from being able to resist the 
attack, that they had not even an opportunity of making their 
escape; but all of them, men, women, and children, masters and 
servants, were indiscriminately put to the sword; the number of 
persons slain being reckoned at eight thousand four hundred, and 
the city was plundered and reduced to ashes. The cities of Ze- 
bulon, Sephoris, Antipatris, and Lydia with their inhabitants, 
shared a similar fate. 

Convinced of the excessive dangers of the war, the Jews 
abandoned their former scruples with regard to their sacred days, 
and applied themselves strictly to their arms. Imagining that 
their force was now sufficient to cope with the Romans, they 
made a desperate sally on the sabbath-day, and with a furious 
uproar attacked their enemies. The rage, which on this occa- 
sion, inflamed them, so as to induce them to forget their duty, 
was advantageous to them in the execution of the projected en- 
terprise; for, on the first charge, they put the front of the Ro- 
mans into great disorder, and penetrated so far into the main 
body of the army, that if a body of foot had not yet remained 
entirely unbroken, and a party of horse arrived to their relief in 
this critical juncture, it is probable that Cestius and all must 
have been cut to pieces. On this occasion, four hundred of the 
Roman cavalry were slain, and a hundred and fifteen of the in- 
fantry, while of the Jews there fell no more on the spot than 
twenty-two men. 

The main body of the Jews now retreating in good order, went 
back into the city. Cestius remained in the field three days after 
this action, during all which time a party of the Jews was sta- 
tioned on the adjacent hills to watch his movements; and, it is 
probable, that the Jews would have attacked the Romans, if they 
had offered to depart during that period. 

On the thirtieth of the month Hyperberetseus, Cestius advanc- 
ed with his whole army in a regular manner, to the borders of 



570 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



the city, where the people in general were so terrified by the fac- 
tion, that they were afraid to take any step of consequence; while 
the principal promoters of the sedition were so alarmed by the 
conduct and discipline of the Romans on their march, that they 
retired from the extremities of the city, and took refuge in the 
temple. Cestius proceeded by the way of Bezetha; and, as he 
passed forwards burnt Ccenopolis, and a place which was denomi- 
nated the wood-market. Hence he advanced to the upper 
town, and pitched his camp at a small distance from the palace. 
If at this critical juncture he had made a vigorous attack, he 
might have made himself master of the place, and put a period 
to the war; but he was diverted from this purpose by the media- 
tion of two generals, named Tyrannus and Priscus, and several 
other officers, with the prevailing argument of some of Floras' 
money: and this unhappy proceeding was the occasion of the 
present misfortunes of the Jews, and the source of many of their 
future calamities. 

Cestius, on the sixth day, made an assault on the north side of 
the temple, with a select force chosen from his troops and bow- 
men; but he was received with such a violent shower of shot and 
stones from the porch and galleries, that the Romans were not 
only repeatedly compelled to retire from the severity of the charge, 
but finally obliged to abandon the enterprise. But the providence 
of God would not permit a war which had been undertaken with 
so little provocation to end in such a manner. The revolters 
were so much encouraged by this unexpected departure of Ces- 
tius, that they attacked him in the rear, annoyed him exceedingly 
in his retreat, and destroyed a number both of his cavalry and 
infantry, compelling him at last to escape by night, and not with- 
out the loss of four hundred of his choice troops, whom he had 
left to keep up the appearance of an encampment. 

When the news of the defeat of Cestius had reached Damas- 
cus, the Syrians determined to provide for their safety by the 
massacre of their Jewish neighbors, whom they cut in pieces to 
the amount of ten thousand, almost without opposition. 

The more moderate Jews abandoned Jerusalem, and the Chris- 
tians in a body are said to have retreated to Pella. This is the 
time referred to in Matt. xxiv. 15, 20. Such of their country- 
men as were determined upon resistance, held a meeting in the 
temple, in which they appointed the officers for carrying on the 
war. Joseph the son of Gorion, and Ananus, the high priest, 
were constituted governors in civil affairs, having a charge to su- 
perintend the city, and especially take care of the fortifications. 
Jesus, the son of Sapphas, and Eleazar, were sent into Idumea; 
Joseph to Jericho; Manasses beyond Jordan; and John the Es- 
sene to Thamna. Gophnitis and Acrabatene were given to John, 
the son of Ananias; and the two Galilees to Josephus, the son of 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



571 



Matthias, to whom likewise was submitted the government of Ga- 
mala, the strongest place in the country. 

The emperor, on receiving intelligence of the defeat of Cestius 
in Judea, was thrown into the most terrible consternation; but 
he dissembled his alarm, ostentatiously asserting that it was to 
the misconduct of his general, and not to their own valor, that 
the Jews were indebted for victory. He industriously sought for 
a man qualified to assume the important task of chastising the re- 
volted Jews. Upon mature deliberation, Nero at length selected 
Vespasian, a man of great abilities, who had been from his early 
youth engaged in a continued succession of military exploits, 
and had just returned from a conquest of the Germans and Bri- 
tains in the west. Immediately upon receiving the commission 
from Nero, who accompanied it with the strongest professions of 
friendship, he commanded his son Titus to lead the fifth and tenth 
legions into Alexandria — he himself crossing the Hellespont, pro- 
ceeded by land into Syria. 

Vespasian being joined by the auxiliaries of Agrippa and the 
legions of his son Titus, in all amounting to sixty thousand ef- 
fective men, marched to the frontiers of Galilee. He here de- 
termined on an expedition against Jotapata, the strongest city in 
Galilee, and the place to which the Jews had fled in vast num- 
bers for refuge. Josephus had previously thrown himself with 
his troops into this place, a circumstance which much encouraged 
the garrison, while it stimulated the Romans to make the more 
vigorous attack, as they hoped, by taking the general, to reduce 
to submission all the Galilean revolters. 

He established his camp on a hill about seven furlongs to the 
north of the city, and began to assault the city, which was de- 
fended with great bravery. Josephus, at the head of the Jews, 
exhibited acts of the most desperate valor, while the resentment 
of the Romans was roused by the obstinate resistance which they 
experienced. 

The city of Jotapata is built on a rock, and on three sides 
are vallies of such surprising depth, that a man cannot look 
down from the precipices without being seized with giddiness. 

It is absolutely inaccessible, but upon the north, where a part 
of the city stands upon the brow of the mountain; but this 
quarter Josephus caused to be strongly fortified and taken into 
the city. 

Finding the place so admirably situated for defence, and that 
he had to contend with an intrepid enemy, Vespasian assembled 
a council of his principal officers, to debate on the means of ob- 
taining victory. The issue of the deliberations was, that a 
large terrace should be raised on that side of the city which ap- 
peared to be least capable of resistance. Immediately upon 
this resolution being taken, Vespasian ordered his whole army to 

66 



572 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



employ themselves in procuring materials for the intended work. 
Immense quantities of timber and stone were conveyed from the 
adjacent mountains, and hurdles were formed to protect the Ro- 
mans from the darts and other weapons that were thrown from 
the city. 

The terrace being now raised nearly to a level with the city 
wall, Josephus considered that it would reflect dishonor upon him 
if he should omit to engage in as arduous a task for the defence 
of the place as the enemy had undertaken for its destruction: and 
therefore ordered the wall to be raised in proportion to the ad- 
vancement of the enemy's work, and to be kept at a sufficient 
height above the summit of the mount. 

The workmen being secured through the contrivance of Jose- 
phus, from the missiles of the enemy, by means of raw hides 
stretched upon stakes, continued indefatigably industrious both by 
day and night; and they soon erected a wall twenty cubits high, 
on which were formed towers and strong embattlements. The 
Romans, who had entertained the utmost confidence of subduing 
the city, were equally astonished and confounded by the depth of 
policy and invincible resolution of their adversaries. 

Vespasian now determined to turn the siege into a blockade, 
not doubting that this, though it might be a slow way of subdu- 
ing the enemy, would prove a very effectual one. They had an 
abundance of corn and all other necessaries in the town, except- 
ing only water and salt, there being neither spring nor fountain 
in the city. For the supply of water, Josephus at length had 
recourse to the following stratagem. Recollecting that there was 
on the west side of the city a hollow or gutter in a place so lit- 
tle frequented, that it was not likely to have been observed by the 
enemy, he wrote to the Jews without the city to cause water and 
other necessaries to be conveyed to him through this passage, 
enjoining them to be careful that the messengers should be cover- 
ed with the hides of beasts, and instructed to walk upon their 
hands and feet; that in case of being observed by the watch, they 
might be mistaken for dogs or other animals. An intercourse 
was thus maintained, till the Romans at length discovered and 
blocked up the avenue. 

At length Vespasian, having observed that the terrace which 
he had been raising had almost arrived at the height of the wall, 
determined to make use of the battering ram, to demolish it. 

Slingers, archers, &c, were ordered to advance, with their sev- 
eral machines nearer the town, in order to beat off the Jews who 
defended the walls, while the ram was brought forward, covered 
with hurdles and hides for the protection of the assailants. The 
first stroke of the engine threw the Jews into a most terrible con- 
sternation; and Josephus knowing that the wall could not possi- 
bly long withstand repeated batterings in the same place, ordered 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



572 



a number of sacks filled with chaff to be lowered by means of 
ropes, to intercept the blows of the ram. The Jews who had by 
this time a most alarming prospect of speedy destruction, redoub- 
led their efforts, and prompted to various expedients of defence 
by the ingenuity of Josephus, assailed the Romans successively 
with fire, pitch, sulphur, boiling oil, together with the common 
missiles of war. Thus Josephus and his garrison bravely defend- 
ed the city during a siege of forty-seven days. 

At day-break of the forty-seventh day, while the vigilance of 
the guard was abated by fatigue and rest, the city was betrayed 
by a deserter into the hands of the Romans. They put the centi- 
nels to death, cut the throats of the guards, and entered the city. 
The recollection of their sufferings in the siege surpressed every 
sentiment of humanity and compassion in the breasts of the con- 
querors. 

Every Jew who was met by the Romans on that day was put 
to instant death; and during some following days, they carefully 
searched the subterraneous and other secret places for the survi- 
vors, all of whom, excepting women and children, they destroy- 
ed. The whole number of Jews slain amounted to forty thous- 
and, and the prisoners were twelve hundred. In obedience to 
the orders of Vespasian, the castles were burnt, and the city 
was entirely laid in ruin. The Romans became masters of Jota- 
pata on the first day of the month Panemus, in the thirteenth 
year of the reign of Nero. 

Josephus, who had concealed himself in a large cave along 
with forty other distinguished Jews, was at length prevailed 
upon to surrender himself to Vespasian, whose accession to the 
empire he pretends to have predicted, and by whom he appears 
to have been treated with the greatest respect. 

While the main army was occupied in the siege of Jotapata, 
Trajan took Japtha, a town in its neighborhood, putting to death 
the inhabitants, to the number of fifteen thousand; and Titus 
followed up the butchery with twelve thousand more, selling 
the women and children into slavery. 

The march of Vespasian was marked every where with the 
like desolation and slaughter. Joppa, on the sea-coast, Tibe- 
rias, Taricheae, Gamala and Gischala, shared a similar fate 
with Jotapata and Japtha. The destruction of these Jewish ci- 
ties, with a waste of lives and a degree of suffering at once dis- 
graceful to the Roman arms, and sickening to human nature, 
put a final period to the war in Galilee. 

The Jewish nation were now divided into two very opposite 
parties: the one, foreseeing that the war, if continued, would 
produce the ruin of their country, were desirous to end it by a 
speedy submision to the Romans: the other, who imbibed the 
principles of the Gaulonitish faction, delighted in nothing but 



574 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



havoc, spoil and murder, and opposed all peaceable measures 
with an invincible obstinacy. This latter party, which was by 
far the most numerous and powerful, consisted of the vilest and 
most profligate characters — proud, cruel and rapacious; but, at 
the same time addicted to hypocrisy, they committed the most 
attrocious wickedness under the pretence of religion, In order to 
cut off every hope of accommodation, they had bound themselves 
by a solemn oath, never to lay down their arms till they had 
either extirpated all foreign authority, or perish in the attempt. 
The contrary party opposed them with arms, but were found un- 
equal in the conflict, and suffered more from their countrymen 
than even from the exasperated Romans. 

Jerusalem became the constant scene of blood and carnage. — 
The ties of consanguinity and religion were no bar to the per- 
petration of the wildest outrages and butcheries. 

So terrified by these horrid proceedings were the people, that 
they did not even dare to shed a tear or heave a sigh for the loss 
of their friends, nor even to bury their nearest relations. Nay, 
they were afraid even to weep or complain in their own houses or 
chambers, without first making a diligent search lest there should 
be any listeners; since any marks of compassion for the deceased 
would have been punished with death. Sometimes, indeed, they 
would throw a handfull of earth on a dead body during the night, 
and a few persons were bold enough to do this during the day-time, 
No less than twelve thousand persons of some rank fell a sacri- 
fice to this rage of party. 

Thus the city of Jerusalem was oppressed by the aggravated 
misfortunes of war, tyranny and sedition. The populace ima- 
gining that war was the most insupportable of all calamities, 
fled from their habitations to seek for protection among strangers. 

Vespasian, who had now daily news of the miserable condi- 
tion of Jerusalem from the fugitives who constantly took shelter 
in his camp, felt concern for the unhappy situation of the inhab- 
itants, and ordered his army to advance nearer to the city ; not 
with the view, as was imagined, to attack it by a regular siege, 
but with a resolution to prevent any siege at all, by reducing all 
the fortresses in its neighborhood, and thereby obviating any ob- 
struction to his future views. 

He therefore pressed his conquests, till they extended over all 
Judea and Idumea. The whole region about Jerusalem was now 
in his hands, and he began to meditate leading his whole army 
against the city. 

But at this juncture, the death of Nero, and the revolutions 
which rapidly succeeded it, occasioned a mighty change in the 
state of public affairs, and endangered the ver} r existence of the 
Roman empire. The Jewish war was therefore now esteemed an 
object of but trifling consideration, and the several factions whiri. 



4 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 575 

divided the Hebrew nation were left for some time at liberty to 
tyrannize over the people, and to persecute each other with re- 
lentless fury. 

Fresh factions broke forth, and raged with unrelenting fury 
in and about the city. To recount them, were but a repetition 
of the same detail of crimes and woe, which we have just gone 
through, and which was fast hastening on the city to the full 
measure of its doom. 

Vespasian was at this time, (69 A. C.) advanced to the empire 
of Rome. Josephus was set at liberty for having predicted his 
prosperity, and Titus was sent by his father to terminate the 
Jewish war. 

He had, besides the three legions which had served under his 
father, the fifth legion, which had been so roughly handled by 
the Jews in Cestius' time, and now burned with a desire of re- 
venge. Besides these, Agrippa, Soemus, and Antiochus, (the 
two former of whom accompanied him in person) and some alli- 
ed cities, had furnished him with twenty regiments of foot, and 
eight of horse, besides vast multitudes of Arabs and a choice 
number of persons of distinction from Italy and other places, 
who came to signalize themselves under his standards. Titus 
ordered the fifth legion to take the road of Emmaus, the tenth 
that of Jericho, the other two legions followed him. It was 
now the beginning of April, and near the feast of the passo- 
ver, to which there was a greater resort of the Jews than had 
ever been known, even from beyond the Euphrates. 

The Romans, in the mean time, were drawing nearer the 
walls, having levelled, with great labor, all the surrounding 
space for many furlongs, pulling down the houses and hedges, 
cutting down the trees, and even cleaving the rocks, a work 
which, however arduous, they accomplished in four days. We 
shall here insert a brief description of Jerusalem, as given by 
Josephus. 

Three celebrated walls surrounded the city of Jerusalem, on 
every side, except on that part which was deemed inaccessible on 
account of the valley beneath; and, in this place, there was only 
one wall. This city was built on two hills, the one situated op- 
posite to the other; and a deep valley lay between them, the 
whole of which was likewise built on. In regard to the strength 
of its situation, it originally received the name of Fortress, or 
Castle, from king David, the father of Solomon, who erected 
it; but the Upper Market was the name by which it was distin- 
guished in more modern times. 

The situation of the lower town was on the other hill, which 
was called by the name of Acra, round about which there was a 
declivity remarkably steep. Opposite to this there was formerly 
another hill not so high as the Acra, from which it was separated 



* 



576 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

by an extensive valley; but during the power of the Asmonean 
princes, they caused this valley to be filled up, and detaching a 
part of the hill Acra, they united the town with the temple, in 
consequence of which it commanded and overlooked the adjacent 
parts. 

Tyropason was the name given to the above mentioned valley, 
which divided the upper from the lower town : this valley extend- 
ed even to the fountain of Siloe, the waters of which were equal- 
ly distinguished by their great abundance and the excellence of 
their flavor 

Without the city there were two other towns which were ren- 
dered almost inaccessible by the crags and precipices which sur- 
rounded them on every side. 

The most ancient of the three walls was remarkable for its 
extraordinary strength, being erected on a hanging rock, and 
protected by the depth of the valley beneath it. Exclusive of 
the advantages of its natural situation, it was repeatedly strength- 
ened at an immense expense, and by all the arts of industry, by 
David, Soloman, and a number of other princes. 

At the gate called Genatha, which belonged to the former 
wall, the second wall commenced, and was carried on by the 
north side of the city to the fort Antonia. 

The third wall, was built by Agrippa as a protection to that 
part of the city which he had erected, which, before this wall 
was built, had been totally undefended. About this period, the 
city had so far increased in the number of its inhabitants, that it 
was unable to contain them: in consequence of which, a sort of 
suburbs were by degrees erected; and the buildings increased to 
a very great degree on the north side of the temple next the 
hill. 

Opposite to the fort Antonia, there was a fourth mountain; 
but between this mountain and the fort, ditches of an amazing 
depth had been cut, so that it was impossible to come at the foun- 
dation of the fort so as to undermine it; and exclusive of this 
advantage, the sinking of the ditches apparently added to the 
height of the tower. This fourth mountain received the name of 
Bezeth, or the New Town, being, in fact, nothing more than 
an addition to the former building. No sooner was this place 
well peopled than the inhabitants requested that it might be for- 
tified: whereupon Agrippa, father of king Agrippa, adjusted 
his plan, and laid the foundation of the wall about it: but after- 
wards, on more mature deliberation, he thought that Claudius 
Csesar might possibly be offended at his undertaking a work of 
such importance and magnificence: wherefore Agrippa dropped 
the farther prosecution of his plan after he had laid the founda- 
tions: but if he had proceeded to have completed it, the capture 
of Jerusalem would have been rendered totally impracticable. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



577 



Titus now took a survey of the walls, to see where they might 
be approached with the greatest probability of success. He 
found that neither horse nor foot could make any penetration by 
way of the vallies: and he found that it would be equally fruitless 
to attempt an attack by batteries on the other side, owing to the 
strength of the wall: wherefore, after some deliberation, he con- 
cluded that the part of the line towards the sepulchre of John the 
high-priest would be best exposed to an attack, that it would not 
be a difficult enterprise to pass from this place to the third wall, 
and thence to the upper town; and, through these means, pos- 
sessing themselves of Antonia, even to the temple. 

While Titus was debating these things in his mind, and Jose- 
phus was executing all his oratory to prevail on the Jews to soli- 
cit a peace, an arrow was shot from a wall, which wounded 
Nicanor (an intimate friend of Titus) in the left shoulder. This 
instance of the ingratitude of these people toward their friends, 
who would have advised them to peaceable measures, incensed 
Titus to such a degree, that he instantly resolved to make a for- 
mal attack on the town, and reduce it by iorce. Hereupon he 
ordered his soldiers to plunder the suburbs without loss of time, 
and to use the rubbish and ruins of what they should destroy, for 
platforms and other works. His army he separated into three 
divisions, assigning to each its proper duty. On the mounts in 
the midst of the main body, he stationed his archers and slingers, 
who were provided with engines to throw stones, arid other mis- 
sive annoyances, which answered the double purpose of keeping 
the enemy engaged on the walls, and of repelling their attacks. 
No time was lost in felling trees, and laying the suburbs bare: 
and the fortifications were made good with the timber thus ob- 
tained. In fact, on the part of the Romans, every hand was 
engaged, nor did the Jews lose their time in idleness. 

The inhabitants, who had been heretofore so much exposed 
to the calamities of robbery and murder, finding the insurgents 
so earnestly engaged in defending themselves, began to conceive 
a hope that they should at length be at ease; flattering them- 
selves, that if the Romans should be successful, they would ena- 
ble them to do themselves justice, by revenging their own quarrel. 
The forces under the command of John opposed the besiegers 
vigorously: while himself, in fear of Simon, dreaded to quit 
the temple. In the mean time, Simon, being stationed near the 
temple, was constantly in action. The shot and engines which 
he had heretofore taken from Cestius, and out of the fort Anto- 
nia, he placed along the wall: but his troops being unskilled in 
the use and management of these engines, made very little ad- 
vantage of them: and this little arose from the knowledge they 
occasionally acquired from deserters. However, the Jews used 
their engines to assail the enemv from the ramparts with arrows 



578 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



and stones: and occasionally they sallied forth and fought hand 
and hand with the Romans, who, on the contrary defended their 
agents by jabions and hurdles. Each of the Roman legions 
was provided with extraordinary machines for repelling an attack 
of the enemy, particularly the tenth legion, which could throw 
larger stones, and farther than any other. Each stone weighed 
a talent and not only did execution on the spot, but even to 
the top of the ramparts. They would destroy at a furlong's 
distance, and a whole file fell before them wherever they 
came. 

The works of the Romans were no sooner completed, than 
they took the distance between the mount and wall by a line and 
plummet; for this could not be effected in any other manner, 
owing to the shot and darts which were thrown down in abun- 
dance. When the place was found to be properly adapted for 
the battering rams, Titus directed that they might play with the 
greater convenience. In obedience to these orders, three batte- 
ries began to play at the same time on three different parts of the 
wall. The noise occasioned by these engines was heard in all 
parts of the city, and appeared not to be less dreaded even by 
the faction than it was by the citizens. At length the insurgents, 
though divided amongst themselves, finding that their danger 
was general, thought it might not be improper to unite in the 
defence of each other. Hereupon Simon dispatched a herald to 
inform those who had inclosed themselves within the temple, that 
as many as were disposed to quit it and approach to the wall, 
had full permission so to do. The purport of this embassy did 
not strike John as a circumstance that could be relied on; but he 
permitted his people to act as their own inclinatious might direct 
them. 

The different factions united, and, forgetting their old animos- 
ities, marched immediately in a body to the walls, where they 
had no sooner taken their stations, than they co-operated with 
their fires and other torches on the Roman engines, plying their 
darts and other weapons, without intermission, on those who had 
the conducting of them. During the violence of this determined 
rage, great numbers of the Jews adventurously descended from 
the walls on the engines, the covers of which they tore off, and 
attacked the guards who were appointed to their defence. 

At this juncture, Titus, who was never deficient in aiding his 
friends at a time of necessity, appointed a party of horse and 
archers to guard the machines, and find employment for the Jews 
on the walls, whilst the engineers should carry on their opera- 
tions. This attack however, had, for the present, very little 
effect: indeed the battering-ram of the fifth legion shook the cor- 
ner of a tower, which, being placed higher than the wall, the 
tower fell to the ground without bringing any of the wall with it. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



579 



Some time having passed since the Jews had made any sally, 
the Romans thought they were either tired or disheartened, and 
thereupon wandered about carelessly as in a state of security. 
This inattention on the part of the Romans being noticed by the 
Jews who were in the town, they rushed violently from a sally- 
port belonging to the tower of Hippocus, set fire to the Roman 
works, and, during the heat of the action, drove the Romans 
back to their own camp. The Romans assembled from all parts 
to the assistance of their associates. The Jews behaved with the 
most determined courage and intrepidity. By this time, the fire 
had taken hold of the machines; and there is not a doubt but 
that they would all have been destroyed, with all those who at- 
tended on them, but for the critical arrival of a select party of 
Alexandrian troops, whose behavior on the occasion cannot be 
sufficiently applauded, since it contributed in a great degree to 
the honor of the day. The proceedings of the Jews were impe- 
ded by these troops, till the arrival of Titus with a body of cav- 
alry. He killed twelve men with his own hands, and drove the 
remainder of the party into the city: and by this enterprise, the 
engines were saved from destruction. 

Nothing had hitherto been found so effectual for the harrassing 
of the Jews as the turrets which the Romans had erected. On 
these they placed archers and slingers, and planted various sorts 
of machines; while the Jews could neither carry their platforms 
to a level with these towers, nor pull them down by reason of 
their solid construction, nor burn them, because they were plated 
with iron. All, therefore, that remained in the power of the 
Jews, was to keep at such a distance, as not to be wounded by 
the darts, arrows, and stones of the Romans; for it was fruitless 
for them to think of opposing the force of the battering-rams, 
which by degrees, effected the purpose for which they were de- 
signed. The Romans were possessed of one ram dreadful in its 
execution, which the Jews distinguished by the name of "Nic- 
on," or " Conqueror," the first breach having been made thereby. 

The Jews had now been at hard duty during the whole night, 
and were extremely fatigued by fighting and watching. Thus 
dispirited, they came to too hasty a determination to abandon the 
first wall, as they had yet two others to depend on for their security. 
The Romans became masters of the first wall on the seventh day 
of the month Artemesius, and destroyed a great part of this wall, 
and also of the northern quarter of the city, which very quarter 
had heretofore been ravaged by Cestius. 

This being done, Titus withdrew to a place known by the 
name of the Assyrian's camp, possessing himself of all between 
that and the valley of Cedron, the distance of which, from the 
second wall, is something more than a bow-shot. From this 
place, he came to a resolution of beginning his attack, and im- 

67 



580 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



mediately commenced his operations. The Jews rook their sta- 
tions in regular order on the wall, where they made a formida- 
ble opposition. John and his associates commanded the troops 
in the fortress Antonia, and from the sepulchre of Alexander on 
the north of the temple. From the monument of John, the 
high-priest, to the gate by which water is conveyed to the tower 
Hippocus, Simon and his people held the command.* A number 
of resolute sallies were made by the Jews, in which they came to 
close quarters with the Romans; but the military knowledge of 
the latter was more than a counterpoise to the desperation of the 
Jews, who were repulsed with considerable loss: yet on the 
walls the Jews had the advantage. Skill and good fortune equal- 
ly favored the Romans: while the Jews, from a native hardness, 
and an animation arising from despair, seemed insensible to dan- 
ger or fatigue. It should be observed, that the Romans were 
now fighting for glory, and the Jews for life and security, each 
party equally disdaining to yield. They were continually cm- 
ploying themselves either in violent assaults or desperate sallies, 
and combats of every kind. Their labors commenced with the 
day, and they were separated only by the darkness of the night: 
and even during the night, both parties kept watching to protect 
their walls, and the other their camp: they continued all night 
under arms, and were ready for battle by break of day. On this 
occasion, the Jews despised danger and death, so much that they 
seemed emulous who should brave them most undauntedly, as the 
best recommendation to their superiors. They entertained so 
great a fear of, and veneration for Simon, that they would have 
sacrificed their lives at his feet, on the slightest intimation that 
such a sacrifice would be agreeable to him. 

The tower on the north side of the city was the object against 
which the battering-ram was now directed. They who defended 
this tower were assailed by Titus with such repeated flights of ar- 
rows, that every man of them abandoned his post, except a crafty 
Jew, of the name of Castor, and ten of his associates, who con- 
cealed themselves behind the battlements. These having remain- 
ed quiet for a considerable time, at length felt a shock by the 
force of which the tower appeared to be shaking to its founda- 
tions. On this alarm, they quitted their present station ; when 
Castor, assuming the language, manner, and behavior of a 
supplicant, intreated that Titus would pardon all that was past, 
and grant him quarter. Titus, willing to believe that the Jews 
were now tired of war, directed that his archers should cease 
their operations, and that the battery should play no longer: at 
the same time informing Castor, that if he had any proposals to 
make, he was willing to attend to what he had to say. To this 
Castor said, that it was his utmost ambition to commence a trea- 
ty; and Titus replied, "I grant it with all my heart: and if all 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



581 



your companions coincide with you in sentiment, I am freely 
disposed to extend my pardon to you.*' This offer being made, 
five out of the ten who associated with Castor pretended to join 
with him in opinion, while the other five exclaimed that they 
would never submit to live slaves, while it was in their power to 
die freemen. A stop was put to all hostilities, while this dispute 
was in agitation. In the mean time Castor sent privately to 
Simon, desiring that he would make the best advantage of the 
present opportunity, and submit to his management the best 
method of amusing the Roman general, under pretence of recom- 
mending terms of peace to his associates. In a word, Castor 
acted his part with so much artifice, that swords were drawn, 
mutual blows passed, and men appeared to be killed; but the 
whole device was founded in falsehood and dissimulation. 

Titus and his people were astonished at the stubborn obstinacy 
and persevering resolution of the Jews; and at the same time, 
entertained a generous compassion for their distress: but having 
the disadvantage of the ground they could not be proper judges 
of what was done above them. At this juncture, Castor received 
a wound in his nose from an arrow; but immediately drawing it 
out, he showed it to Titus, seeming thereby to demand justice. 
Titus was so highly enraged at this injury, that he turned to Jose- 
phus, who stood near him, desiring that he would go immediate- 
ly, in his name to Castor, and give him all possible assurances 
of friendship and fair treatment. Josephus, however, not only 
desired to be excused from executing this commission, but 
likewise dissuaded his friends who would have undertaken it, as- 
suring them, that this apparent submission was founded in the 
deepest treachery. However, notwithstanding what was said, 
iEneas, one who had deserted to the Romans, seemed willing to 
undertake this expedition, to which he was the rather encouraged, 
by Castor's directing him to bring something in which to put a 
sum of money that he intended to compliment him with. Thus 
encouraged by the hope of advantage, iEneas advanced to ac- 
cept the present, when Castor let fall a large stone from the wall, 
and iEneas narrowly escaped being crushed by it, while it wound- 
ed the man who stood next to him. 

From this circumstance, Titus was aware of the ill consequen- 
ces that might arise from benevolence ill-timed; and was con- 
vinced that determined rigour ought to be opposed to plausible 
pretensions and fair promises. He thereupon began to ply his 
batteries with greater violence than heretofore, in order to revenge 
himself for the contumacious affront that had been offered him by 
Castor and his associates. When the batteries had played some 
time, Castor and his people found that the tower shook under 
them, and appeared to be on the point of falling; on which they 
set it on fire, and, running through the flames escaped into a 



582 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



vault. The Romans imagined that by this action they had de- 
voted themselves to certain destruction, and were generous enough 
to extol their courage and magnanimity to the skies. 

Titus took possession of this part of the wall at the end of five 
days from the time that he had become master of the first. As 
the passage to the second wall was now opened, he had made the 
Jews fly before him; and having selected a hundred of his best 
troops he entered the city at that quarter inhabited by the sales- 
men, clothiers and brasiers, and passed up the narrow cross 
streets to the wall. Titus, however, either from negligence or 
compassion, omitted to break down the wall, and thus, as we 
shall soon hear, lost the advantage of his victory. 

No sooner had Titus entered the town, than he issued out his 
orders that not a single house should be burnt, nor even one 
prisoner put to the sword. He was so indulgent likewise even to 
those of the faction, that he offered to permit them to end their 
own disputes among themselves, on the single condition, that 
they should not oppress the inhabitants. To these last, likewise, 
he promised that he would support them in all their legal posses- 
sions, and that what had been taken from them by violence should 
be restored. 

These terms were highly agreeable to the majority of the peo- 
ple, of whom some wished that the city might be spared for their 
own sakes, and others, that the temple might be spared for the 
sake of the city. However, the abandoned part of the faction 
ascribed all the generous benevolence and humanity of Titus, to 
fear; and they argued in this manner, that Titus would never 
have offered such favorable terms, if he had not himself dispair- 
ed of accomplishing the work he had undertaken; and the fac- 
tion now threatened instant death to any person who should pro- 
pose peace, or a treaty of reconciliation. 

No sooner had the Romans entered the city, than the Jews did 
all in their power to obstruct their proceedings; they blocked up 
the narrow passages, shot at them from the houses, making fre- 
quent sallies from the walls, and often compelled the guards to 
abandon the towers, and seek refuge in the camp. The soldiers 
within the city were in the utmost confusion; and those without 
were agitated in the highest degree, on account of the appre- 
hended fate of their companions. Several smart encounters en- 
sued between the opposing parties; but the Jews being more nu- 
merous than the Romans, and likewise better acquainted with the 
bye-ways and secret passes, they obtained repeated advantages: 
the breaches being likewise too narrow for any number to march 
out abreast, the Romans would have been pressed to such a de- 
gree, that scarcely a man of them would have escaped, if Titus 
had not arrived in the critical conjuncture; and this gallant offi- 
cer placed a band of archers at the end of every street, was him- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



583 



self present in every place of the greatest danger, and being se- 
conded by Domitius Sabinus, (a gallant man, who performed sin- 
gular feats of courage on the occasion) the Jews were so annoy- 
ed by darts and lances, that the Romans had an opportunity of 
bringing off their men. Thus were the Romans driven from the 
second wall, after they had gained possession of it. 

This piece of success gave such spirits to the most determined 
of the inhabitants, that they flattered themselves that the Romans 
would not again venture to attack them; or that if they did, it 
would be totally impossible to subdue them: whereas, if these 
desperate men had not labored under an actual infatuation, they 
must have reflected, that the Romans, over whom they had at 
present attained an advantage, were not to be compared with the 
immense numbers that were yet to be encountered. The Romans 
having once gotten possession of the wall, and then lost it, made 
another attempt to recover it. They made repeated, and almost 
constant assaults, for the space of three successive days, during 
which period they were repulsed with as much valor as they 
showed in the attack: but Titus made so furious a charge on the 
fourth day, that his opponents were no longer able to resist his 
force; whereupon he took possession of the wall, the northern 
part of which he destroyed, and in all the towers to the south- 
ward he placed garrisons without loss of time. 

The storming of the the third wall was now an object that en- 
gaged the attention of Titus; but as he did not deem it a work 
that would be attended with much difficulty, he first considered 
how, by more lenient methods, he might bring the people to con- 
sider their true interest; hopingthat they might be induced to listen 
to him, through the dread of his power and the fear of famine ; for 
by this time, their plunder and provision were nearly consumed; 
while, on the contrary, the forces under Titus were supplied with 
every thing they could desire for their ease and accommodation. 
This being the case, Titus issued orders that, on a day of gene- 
ral muster, his troops should be drawn up and paid within view 
of the enemy. On this occasion, the infantry advanced with 
drawn swords, and the led horses were adorned in so splendid a 
manner, that gold and silver seemed to prevail over all the field. 
This sight was equally agreeable to the Romans, as disgusting 
to the Jews, who had assembled in immense numbers on the old 
wall, on the north side of the city; the houses were likewise 
crowded, and every part of the city was filled with people gazing 
at this splendid spectacle. In fact the courage of the bravest 
among the Jews was repressed by the appearance; and, in all 
probability, they would have now submitted to the Romans, had 
it not been for a consciousness that they had offered provocation 
of such a nature as not to be readily pardoned; and that if they 
abandoned the point in dispute, they must be devoted to certain 



584 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



destruction; wherefore, rather than submit to be sacrificed at 
present, they chose rather to fall in the bed of honor by the 
chance of war. But, in fact, Providence had so determined, 
that the faction was to prove the ruin of the city, and the inno- 
cent were to be involved in the consequence of the crimes of the 
guilty. 

After four days spent without any act of hostility, in procur- 
ing provisions for the camp, Titus, on the fifth day, separated his 
army into two divisions; and, finding that the Jews were not in 
the least disposed to make peace, he caused works to be thrown 
up against the forts of Antonia, near the monument of John, in 
the hope that from that quarter he might get possession of the 
upper town, and then from Antonia become possessed of the tem- 
ple; for it was impossible to keep possession of the city, unless 
the fort was taken. He made separate attacks against each of 
these two places; and at every rising ground he placed a legion 
of soldiers to defend and protect the engineers. Those who car- 
ried on their works near the monument, were violently assaulted 
by the Jews, and the people under the command of Simon; 
while those who besieged the fort Antonia were still more vigor- 
ously opposed by the party of John, and the zealots in his direc- 
tion; for these had the advantage of the higher ground, and were 
also supplied with machines, of the use of which they were now 
perfectly acquainted, in consequence of daily practice. The 
zealots had likewise possession of forty slings for stones, and 
three hundred cross-bows, by which the Romans were much an- 
noyed, and a check was given to their proceedings. 

Though Titus had hitherto entertained no doubt but that he 
should make a complete conquest of the city, yet, while on the 
one hand he continued to urge the siege, he, on the contrary, 
joined to the power of force every effort of persuasion and ad- 
vice, in order to induce the Jews to a compliance with the terms 
of reason. Reflecting that an appeal to the passions had some- 
times a better effect than that to the law of arms, he, in the first 
place, personally addressed the Jews, requesting that they would 
have so much regard to their interest, as to surrender a place of 
which he could make himself master at any time. This done, 
he committed the rest to Josephus; thinking that when they were 
addressed by their own countryman, and in a language familiar 
to them, success would probably be the consequence of the hu- 
manity which inspired him to undertake so benevolent an office. 
Agreeable to the directions given by Titus, Josephus first walked 
through several parts of the city, and then stopping on an ele- 
vated spot within the hearing of the enemy, though not within 
reach of their shot, he made a long and eloquent speech, in which 
he urged every argument he could think of in order to induce 
them to surrender. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



585 



Josephus wept abundantly at tbe recital of bis own speech; 
but it appeared to make no impression on tbe opposing faction, 
who did not think that they could, with safety, agree to the terms 
offered by the Romans, even if they had been disposed so to have 
done. But of the common people, many were so impressed with 
that most effectual means of consulting their safety by flight; 
and, for this purpose, they sold all their most valuable effects, 
though at prices greatly inferior to their real worth; and swal- 
lowed the gold they received as the purchase money, lest they 
should be stripped of it in their journey. Thus provided, they 
repaired to the Romans, where they were supplied with what 
they wanted. In the interim, Titus permitted the deserters to 
enjoy their full liberty, which was an encouragement to others 
to desert, as they avoided the misfortunes of those in the city, 
without being subject to the enemy. However, Simon and John, 
and their adherents, placed guards at all the outlets, and were 
not less assiduous to keep the citizens from departing, than the 
Romans from making an entrance. The least cause of suspicion 
was sufficient to depiive a man of his life, or even a pretence on 
which to found a suspicion had the same effect. Persons in af- 
fluent circumstances were certain to be sufferers: those who had 
any thing to lose were assuredly suspected, and that suspicion 
ended in their final destruction. 

The factions now became more tumultuous, and the famine 
daily increased. When corn was no longer offered for sale, 
they broke open houses in search of it; and if none was dis- 
covered, the owners were tortured to make them declare where 
their stores were deposited; and if it was discovered, they were 
severely punished for concealing it. At length, such was the 
distress, that the people in tolerable circumstances disposed of 
their whole effects for a bushel of wheat, and the poorer people 
for an equal quantity of barley. The purchases being made, 
they secluded themselves from all observation, when some of 
them began to eat the corn before it was ground, while others 
waited till it was baked, according to the different degrees of 
their hunger. 

Whenever the inhabitants saw a house shut up, they concluded 
that the people in it had something to eat: wherefore, breaking 
it open, they seized the meat even from the mouths of the per- 
sons who were swallowing it. Neither age nor sex was spared: 
the old men, who endeavored to defend the provisions they pos- 
sessed, were violently beaten : while the women who sought to 
conceal any thing, were dragged by their hair. Even children 
at the breast escaped not the general fury; so that the same 
treatment attended infancy and old age. 

No kind of cruelty was omitted in the search for food: persons 
were tormented in the most exquisite manner, and in those parts 



586 



• HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



the most sensible of pain. Sharp sticks were thrust up their 
hodies; and they were otherwise so severely treated, that the re- 
cital would give horror; and all this, perhaps, in order to discover 
a handfull of flour, or a loaf of bread, which had been concealed. 

Such was the treatment that the common people received from 
soldiers; but persons of a superior degree were carried before 
the usurpers, who directed that some of them should be put to 
death on a charge of treason, false witnesses being continually 
produced to swear that they had an intention of betraying the 
city to the Romans. Those who had been plundered by Simon 
were carried to John, and the prisoners brought to John were 
transmitted to Simon, as if they had mutually agreed to triumph 
in the distresses of their fellow-creatures 

Titus plied his operations with incessant assiduity, in the course 
of which he lost many men by shots from the walls. The Jews 
had a practice of quitting the city during the night, in search of 
the necessaries of life; and, in these excursions, they were often 
attended by soldiers, who could not obtain within the city suffi- 
cient to satisfy the demands of nature. 

These circumstances being well known to Titus, he sent a 
party of his cavalry to wait for the Jews in the valleys: and these 
latter, being reduced to despair, through hunger, fell into the 
snare laid by the enemy. When they found their unfortunate 
situation, they were compelled to light, in the dread of a punish- 
ment even worse than death in battle; and, in fact, it was now 
too late for them to think of demanding quarter. In a word, the 
Jews were subdued; and having first been put to a variety of 
tortures, were crucified in sight of their brethren who were be- 
sieged. The exertion of this rigor was disagreeable to Titus; but 
he hoped that the terrible example might tend to influence those 
within the city to avoid a similar fate. Yet this horrid spectacle 
was so far from having its proper influence on the faction, that it 
wrought an effect directly contrary to what was intended; for the 
friends and relations of the fugitives, and all those who seemed 
inclined to listen to terms of accommodation, were compelled to 
come down to the walls, and observe what was to be expected 
by those who deserted to the Romans; and, on this occasion, it 
was insisted that the sufferers were not prisoners of war, but de- 
serters who had made their submission and implored mercy. By 
this contrivance many were prevented from going off till the fact 
came to be known; though there were numbers who escaped to 
the enemy, in the mere dread of being starved, which they con- 
sidered a more deplorable death than that of crucifixion. 

Hereupon Titus gave orders that several of the prisoners should 
have their hands cut off, and in this condition he sent them to 
John and Simon, so that it was not possible that they should be 
mistaken for deserters: and by these people he sent his advice, 



HISTORY OE THE JEWS. 587 

that an end might be put to the war, before he should be abso- 
lutely compelled to destroy the city; intimating that the Jews, on 
a proper submission, had yet an opportunity of preserving their 
lives, their country, and their temple. In the mean time, how- 
ever, Titus did not neglect to forward his works, encouraging 
those who labored on them to be indefatigable, having determin- 
ed that his preparations should be followed by convincing proofs, 
that what was not to be effected by the laws of reason, should 
yield to those of force. 

The Romans began their platforms on the twelfth day of the 
month Artemisius; and after seventeen days of incessant labor, 
completed them on the twenty-ninth. There were four of these 
platforms, and they were works of a very capital nature. One 
of them, which was near the fortress of Antonia, was constructed 
by the fifth legion opposite the middle of the Struthian Pool: the 
twelfth legion threw up another at the distance of twenty cubits 
from the former: opposite to the pool named Amygdalon, another 
work was thrown by the tenth legion, which was more numerous 
than the other legions: and a fourth mount was erected by the 
fifteenth legion, at a small distance from the monument erected 
to the memory of John the high-priest. 

As soon as the works above mentioned were completed, John 
gave directions for digging a mine under that facing Antonia, 
and that a number of props should support the earth from falling. 
This being done, the wood-work was covered with a bituminous 
inflammable matter; after which, John ordered that the pillars 
should be fired; and the props being destroyed, the whole forti- 
fication fell to the ground with a hideous crash. At first, no fire 
appeared, only dust and smoke, till at length the flames burst 
forth to view. The Romans were astonished at the sight, and 
perfectly distracted to think that their views were thus defeated 
on the moment that they thought themselves certain of success. 
As their ramparts were destroyed, they conceived that it would 
be fruitless to attempt to quench the fire. 

Two days after this circumstance, Simon and his associates 
made an attempt on the other two mounts, where the Romans 
had by this time planted their battering-rams, and began their 
operations. Jeptheeus, a Galilean, of the city of Gasis; Megas- 
sarus, a domestic of Queen Mariamne; and Agiras (otherwise 
the lame) the son of Nabataeus of Adiabene, greatly distinguished 
themselves on this occasion. They ran with torches in their 
hands, and forcing their way through the troops of the enemy 
with as much unconcern as if there had been no opposition, they 
set fire to the works; and though they were opposed by darts 
and arrows, they resolutely persevered in their intention till the 
whole erection was in a flame. These three men were esteemed 
among the bravest that took part in the war. 

68 



588 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



Such numbers from "without the city now came in as reinforce- 
ments to the Jews, that this additional aid gave them such fresh 
spirits and courage, that, flushed with the hope of conquest, they 
advanced even to the camp, and made an attack on the guards. 
The office of the Roman guards, according to the strictness of 
their discipline, was to perform their duty, alternately relieving 
each other; and the man who quitted his station, under any pre- 
tence whatever, was certain of suffering death without mercy. 
Thus assured from the very nature of their station, that they 
must suffer the infamous death of deserters if they did not fall 
like men of honor, they made so resolute an opposition, that 
some of those who had fled, thought themselves under a neces- 
sity of returning; when they made such resistance by means of 
their engines, that the excursions of the Jews from the city were 
stopped. These Jews had sallied forth with the utmost fury, 
unprovided even with weapons for their defence, attacking all they 
met without distinction, rashly rushing among their enemies, and 
throwing themselves on the points of their spikes. In a word, the 
advantages of the Jews at any time gained over the Romans were 
less acquired by real courage than rash precipitancy : while the 
Romans, little afraid of any essential injury the Jews could do 
them, often yielded to the violent impetuosity of their opponents. 

When Titus returned from Antonia, where he had been to fix 
on a proper spot for carrying on the siege, he severely repriman- 
ded the troops for permitting themselves to be attacked in their 
own works, when they had posessed themselves of those of the 
enemy, and yielding to be besieged by those who could be con- 
sidered as no other than prisoners. After this, Titus made a selec- 
tion of some of his best troops, and, surrounding the Jews, 
charged them in the flank; while they, on the other hand, sus- 
tained the charge with astonishing resolution. The Romans were 
so enraged, partly from a sense of military honor, and partly 
from a concern for the safety of their general, who was in immi- 
nent danger, that if the Jews had not retreated to the city in the 
very moment that they did, every one of them would have been 
utterly destroyed. Still, however, the Romans were hurt at the 
reflection of having lost their bulwarks, and that what they had 
been so long in erecting, should be demolished almost in an hour. 
In consequence of this disappointment, the Romans began to 
despair of accomplishing their design. 

During this situation of affairs, Titus issued orders that his 
principal officers should be summoned to a council, to advise him 
how to act in the emergency. Some of the most violent among 
them recommended an immediate attack with the whole army, 
and coming to a general battle. Those of more reflection gave 
their voices for the re-edification of the ramparts: while a third 
party were of opinion that famine would effectually do the busi- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



589 



oess, and that victory might be obtained without a blow being 
struck. 

Though Titus did not think it perfectly honorable to lie inac- 
tive at the head of so large an army, yet he was not disposed to 
attack a people who sought their own destruction with such de- 
termined resolution. The want of materials rendered it imprac- 
ticable that he should erect new ramparts-, and with regard to the 
preventing provisions being carried into the city, he thought it 
would be equally impossible, on account of the extent of the 
place and the number of avenues. He reflected, that if the Jews 
should, by stealth, convey any relief into the city, it would tend 
only to protract the siege, and the delay thereby occasioned 
would lessen the honor of the victory. 

He directed his officers immediately to begin the erection of 
the wall, and let the whole army take a share in the business, 
assigning to each party its proper station. These orders were 
no sooner issued, than every soldier was animated with a wish to 
exceed his fellows in this work. The ground was measured out, 
the legions were divided, and every man was emulous who should 
most effectually distinguish himself. The common soldiers copied 
the example of the Serjeants, the Serjeants that of the captains, 
the captains that of the tribunes, and the tribunes that of their 
superior officers; the whole being under the direction of Titus, 
whose zeal for the dispatch of this business was such, that he 
was continually taking his rounds to superintend the whole pro- 
ceeding. 

Nine and thirty furlongs was the whole extent of this wall, 
and thirteen forts were erected on the outside of it, ten furlongs 
being the compas of each fort. It is somewhat extraordinary, 
but no less so. than true, that this amazing work was completed 
in three days, though an equal number of months might have 
been supposed a reasonable time for it. As soon as it was finish- 
ed, garrisons were placed in all the forts, who did duty under 
arms every night. On each night, likewise, Titus went the first 
round in person; Tiberius Alexander, the second; and the offi- 
cers who commanded the legions, the third. Some persons were 
constantly on guard in the forts during the whole night: but 
some of the soldiers were allowed to rest alternately with others 
who were appointed to watch. 

The above mentioned enclosure of the Jews within the town, 
reduced them to the last degree of despair; for by this time the 
famine had increased to such a height, that whole families fell a 
sacrifice to its rage. The dead bodies of women and children 
were seen in every house: the old men were found dead in all 
* the narrow lanes of the city; while the younger men, who were 
yet able to walk, appeared like ghosts parading the street. It 
became impossible to commit the bodies of the dead to the ground. 



590 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



Many of the living were unable to perform this charitable office; 
while others were unwilling to take it, partly discouraged by the 
numbers of the deceased, and partly by the reflection that them- 
selves could not survive any considerable time. Numbers of 
them expired even while they were burying their fellow-citizens; 
and some, prompted by despair, sought their own graves, and 
interred themselves, that they might be certain of a place of re- 
pose. Yet miserably distressful as the present situation of these 
wretches was, not a single complaint or lamentation was heard; 
for the pangs of excessive hunger absorbed every other passion. 
They who last expired beheld those who had gone before them 
with unweeping eyes, and looks marked with the near approach 
of death. The most profound silence reigned through every 
part of the city; and during the course of the night, heaps of 
dead bodies were frequently piled on each other. When offen- 
sive smells arising from the corruption of the dead bodies, became 
insupportable, an order was given that all of them should be bu- 
ried at the public expense: the abandoned incendiaries threw 
them from the walls into the valleys; a sight that occasioned so 
much horror to Titus, that, while he was going his rounds, and 
found the ditches infected with dead bodies, and pestilential va- 
pors arising from them, he extended his hands towards heaven, 
and made a solemn appeal to God, that these misfortunes arose 
not from any orders that he had given. 

The insurgents were now so pent up within the walls, that they 
found it impossible for any of them to quit the place. In the 
mean time they endured all the pangs of famine, aggravated by 
the tortures of despair; while on the contrary, the Romans lived 
at their ease, and passed their time very agreeably, being am- 
ply supplied with the necessaries of life from Syria and the ad- 
jacent provinces. Encouraged by their better fortune, many of 
the Romans advanced to the walls, and made an ostentatious 
display of their provisions, with a view to reflect on the necessi- 
ties of those who were in circumstances of distress. All this ap- 
peared to have no effect on the unfeeling minds of the seditious 
multitude: whereupon Titus, in mere compassion to the residue 
of an unhappy people, determined immediately on the erection 
of new works, and resolved that no time should be lost in their 
completion. One considerable difficulty indeed now occurred, 
which was the providing the proper materials for carrying these 
works into execution; for all the wood in the neighborhood of 
the city had been cut down for the erection of the former works: 
wherefore they were under the necessity of fetching all the tim- 
ber for this second supply, from a place of ninety furlongs; and 
herewith four ramparts of greater magnitude than the former, 
were erected at the fortress Antonia. Titus carried on this bu- 
siness with great assiduity, and the besieged being now at his 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



591 



mercy, he plainly hinted to them that he knew their situation. 
Still, however, they showed no concern for what had happened: 
they seemed to have no regard for themselves or each other. 
Those who were decaying with sickness they confined in prisons, 
and tore the dead in pieces as dogs would have done. 

The ungrateful return which Matthias received from Simon, 
for procuring him to be admitted into the city, was that he 
first caused him to be tortured, and then put to death. The 
venerable old man made it his earnest request, and the only 
favor he asked in return for his admitting Simon into the town, 
that he himself might first suffer; but even this poor favor was 
denied by Simon. He was put to death on the bodies of his 
sons, and within view of the Romans, agreeable to an order 
given to Ananus, the son of Barnadus; which Ananus was dis- 
tinguished from all the dependents of Simon by the extreme cru- 
elty of his disposition. 

About the same time, several other distinguished personages, 
were put to death, the father of Josephus imprisoned, and him- 
self wounded by a stone. At this juncture, a number of the 
inhabitants went oflf to the Romans. Some of them deserted 
under pretence of pursuing the enemy with stones; while others 
made their escape by leaping over the walls. But the most mel- 
ancholy part of the history remains yet to be recounted. 

Among the Syrians, a fugitive Jew was discovered while he 
was searching for gold, which he had swallowed, and which had 
passed through his body. At the period above mentioned, there 
was a very great scarcity of gold in the town, and twelve 
attics were as valuable as twenty-five had been in former times; 
and the faction had searched all the people in the strictest man- 
ner. On the above mentioned discovery, it was immediately 
reported through the camp that the Jews who had deserted had 
swallowed all the gold. Hereupon the Arabians and Syrians 
seized on the deserters, and cut open the bodies of two thousand 
of them in one night. This Josephus deems to have been the 
most inhuman butchery that ever was perpetrated on the Jews. 

The horrid inhumanity of this action gave so much offence to 
Titus, that he would undoubtedly have ordered his cavalry to 
destroy every one of the offenders with darts, if their number 
had not been more considerable than that of those they had mur- 
dered: but as this was the case, he summoned together his offi- 
cers, as well the Romans as the auxiliaries, and addressed them 
with severity on the act; and finding that some of his own peo- 
ple had been concerned in this inhuman butchery, he delivered 
his sentiments on the occasion in the following manner: In the 
first place addressing himself to the Romans, he said, "I am 
astonished that any soldier of mine should be guilty of an action 
so unmanly, in order to possess himself of so uncertain an ad- 



592 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



vantage, without blushing at the meanness to which he had been 
induced by his avarice." Then turning to his auxiliaries, he ex- 
claimed, "Do you think it reasonable that the insolences offered, 
and the inhumanities perpetrated by the Syrians and Arabians in 
a foreign war, in which they act without control, ought to be im- 
puted to the Romans? and that the crimes of one party ought 
to be laid to the charge of the other?" 

Titus, so far from excusing, was transported to the highest 
degree of rage at their conduct, and threatened immediate death 
to any man who should be guilty of similar acts of barbarity for 
the future. At the same time, he gave orders to his legions to 
make a strict search after every person who should be suspected, 
and declared that he himself would sit in judgment on his trial. 
What Titus prohibited publicly with such severity was repeat- 
edly practiced in secret on the deserters from the Jews. Their 
mode of proceeding only was varied; for when any of the de- 
serters were taken, the custom of the murderers was first to be 
assured that they were not within view of any of the Romans, 
and then to rip up the bodies of the Jews in search of treasure, 
though they were seldom successful in finding the money sought 
after by these infamous means. However, the shocking practice 
had such an effect on the Jews, that they now no longer deserted 
to the Romans, being apprehensive of the fatal consequences that 
would ensue. 

John having obtained all he could by plunder, then proceeded 
to sacrilege, seizing and appropriating to his own use several 
cups, dishes, tables, and other necessary vessels appropriated to 
divine service, which had been presented as gifts, or offered as 
oblations, not excepting even the pieces dedicated to the honor of 
the temple by Augustus and the empress. The Roman emperors 
had ever entertained a great esteem and veneration for the tem- 
ple, though at this time it was profaned by a Jew, who stripped 
it of the presents bestowed on it by strangers, and encouraged 
his companions to make free with every thing that was sacred, 
saying, "It was but reasonable that those should live by the tem- 
ple who had fought for it." In pursuance of these sentiments, 
he made no scruple of distributing among his people the holy 
wine and oil, which had been reserved for sacrifices in the interior 
part of the temple: and as John was free of his distributions, 
the people were equally free of receiving them, drinking and 
anointing without ceremony. 

The Romans were put to great difficulty in procuring the ne- 
cessary materials for completing their works; but they cut down 
all the woods within the circuit of ninety furlongs of the city, 
and finished their platforms in the space of twenty-one days. A 
most dismal alteration took place in this delightful part of Judea, 
which abounded in curious gardens, plantations, and houses of 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



593 



pleasure: not a building or tree was now to be seen, but the 
marks of devastation and ruin occupied the whole prospect. So 
great was the difference between the present and the former state 
of Jerusalem, that even strangers could not refrain from tears on 
the comparison. So terrible was the devastation and havoc of the 
war, that people in the heart of the city might reasonably have 
inquired where Jerusalem, that place so peculiarly favored by 
heaven, was situated. 

The Romans having raised the mounts, the Jews became great- 
ly alarmed; for matters were now arrived to such an extremity, 
that they were conscious they must inevitably surrender the city, 
if their endeavors to destroy the Roman works proved ineffectu- 
al; on the other hand, the Romans were exceedingly apprehen- 
sive lest the attempts of their adversaries should prevail; for the 
wood of the adjacent parts of the country being wholly exhaust- 
ed; and the men greatly harrassed by incessant and hard duty, 
if the mounts were destroyed, all hopes of success must 
end, since there appeared no possibility of constructing other 
works. 

Notwithstanding the enmity subsisting between the parties, 
the Romans were more concerned on account of the miseries of 
the Jews than they were themselves. In despite of all the diffi- 
culties and dangers they had undergone, and the prospect of 
what they had still to encounter, the Jews preserved their spirits 
and resolution. The Romans now doubled the number of their 
guards, and took such other precautions as occasion required. 

Before the rams were mounted, no measures that were likely 
to prove effectual were omitted by John and his adherents, who 
guarded the castle of Antonia to prevent a breach being made 
in the walls. They made a sally with a view of setting fire to 
the mounts; but they went out in small parties, and they did 
not act with that courage and unanimity which was usual to the 
Jews. Their measures were not well concerted, nor were they 
carried into execution with the necessary spirit, to which may 
be attributed the failure of their design. The Romans became 
unusually vigilant, and lest their works should be set on fire, 
they planted a strict guard upon the bulwarks, and adopted such 
other precautionary measures as were necessary for preventing 
any disadvantages being taken by the enemy. Rather than sub- 
mit to the irreparable injury of relinquishing their advantageous 
station, they unanimously resolved to die in defending the 
mounts. They considered that the honor of the Roman name 
would incur indelible disgrace if they suffered their courage and 
discipline to be baffled by the headstrong impetuosity of a desper- 
ate and outrageous multitude; and to submit to the power of the 
Jews was a circumstance that they could not reflect upon with 
any tolerable degree of patience. 



594 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



The Romans were prepared with darts to encounter the enemy 
as they advanced: and such of the foremost as were slain or 
wounded, obstructed the progress and damped the courage of 
their companions. They who pressed forward were astonished 
and deterred, upon observing the exact regularity of the Roman 
discipline; others were alarmed at the great numbers of the ene- 
my; and they who were wounded availed themselves of the first 
opportunities that offered for effecting an escape. In short, all 
the Jews retired, each man endeavoring to preserve himself from 
censure by attributing the common calamity to the misconduct of 
his companions. 

The Jews having retreated on the first day of the month Pane- 
mus, the Romans advanced their rams, in order to batter the 
walls of the castle Antonia. To prevent the approach of the 
engines, the Jews had recourse to their swords, fire, stones, and 
such other means as were likely to prove effectual; and they de- 
fended themselves with singular resolution: they greatly depend- 
ed on the walls being sufficiently strong to resist the force of the 
machines; but still they exerted every possible effort to prevent 
their being advanced and placed in a manner proper for action. 
Hence the assailants concluded that the great activity of the 
Jews proceeded from a consciousness of Antonia being in dan- 
ger. For a considerable time the battery was continued without 
effect; but despairing of being able to effect a breach by means 
of their engines, the Romans applied themselves to mining, 
carefully guarding themselves with their bucklers from the stones, 
lances, and other weapons discharged from above. With im- 
mense labor, they at length loosened four stones of the founda- 
tion. 

The night now arrived, and both parties retired to repose. In 
the mean time, that part of the wall which John had undermined, 
with a view of destroying the former works, suddenly gave way. 
This unexpected event had a contrary effect upon the contending 
parties. The Jews, who, by a proper attention, might have 
prevented the accident, were but little concerned when it arrived; 
for they deemed the place to be still sufficiently secure. The 
Romans were greatly rejoiced at a circumstance so favorable to 
their views as the falling of the wall; but their transports abated, 
upon observing a wall which John had constructed within the 
circuit of that wherein the breach appeared. They still, howev- 
er, entertained hopes of conquering the place; for the ruins of 
the outward wall greatly facilitated access to the other, which 
was not yet sufficiently settled and hard to make any considerable 
resistance to the force of the battering rams. The assailants 
judged that instant death would inevitably be the fate of those 
who should attempt to scale the walls; and therefore all thoughts 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



595 



of that exploit were declined, unless by one Sabinus, who lost 
his life in the attempt. 

Two days being elapsed, twenty of the guards of the plat- 
forms, the ensign of the fifth, two cavaliers, and a trumpet as- 
sembled: and in the dead of the night these people silently ad- 
vanced over the ruins of the wall to Antonia. They marched 
without meeting the least obstruction; and rinding the advanced 
guard oppressed asleep, they cut their throats; and having gain- 
ed possession of the wall, the trumpeter sounded his instrument, 
which aroused the rest of the guard, who were thrown into so 
great a consternation, that they instantly fled, being ignorant 
that only a small number of the enemy had entered the place, but 
strongly possessed of the opinion that they were exceedingly nu- 
merous. 

Upon receiving intimation of the state of affairs at the fort, 
Titus put himself at the head of his most resolute troops, and 
immediately marched thither over the ruins already mentioned. 
So astonished were the Jews at the sudden and unexpected attack, 
that some fled for safety to the interior of the temple, and others 
to the mine that John had formed with a view of destroying the 
Roman works. The factions under the command of John and 
Simon were convinced that every prospect of success must end if 
the enemy obtained possession of the temple: and hereupon a 
desperate engagement ensued before the doors of the sacred build- 
ing; one party fighting for the preservation of life, and the 
other for the honor of conquest. Neither party could use lances 
or darts with effect: for they were so closely engaged, that the 
sword was the only weapon on which the issue of the battle was 
to depend. Jews and Romans were promiscuously crowded to- 
gether, and neither order or discipline was observed but the 
utmost confusion prevailed. 

The encounter was maintained for the space often hours, being 
commenced at the expiration of the ninth hour of the night, and 
not concluded till the end of the seventh on the following morn- 
ing. The determined rage of the Jews, however, proved too 
powerful for the discipline and bravery of the Romans; and that 
this was the case, proved a happy circumstance for the former, 
whose last advantage being at stake, had they been vanquished 
in this action, utter destruction to them must inevitably have 
been the consequence. The Romans judged that they had rea- 
son to be satisfied with the advantage they had acquired, in gain- 
ing possession of the fort Antonia: for they had performed the 
exploit with only a part of the army, the legions on whom the 
greatest dependence was placed not being yet arrived. 

Having determined to break up the foundations of fort Anto- 
nia, and form a level passage for the more convenient march of 
his army, Titus before he proceeded to that extremity, commis- 

69 



596 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



sioned Josephus to bring back tbe Jews to tbe exercise of their 
reason. His arguments were lost on the majority of his hearers; 
but prevailed with divers of those people who composed the fac- 
tion. A considerable number of persons of rank revolted to the 
enemy. They experienced a most gracious and generous recep- 
tion from Titus, and expressed the warmest sentiments of grati- 
tude for the liberal treatment they had received from the Roman 
general. 

When the faction observed that the fugitives were no longer 
to be seen from the city, they circulated a rumor that the Ro- 
mans had put them to death. For some time this stratagem 
had the desired effect, by deterring other Jews from following 
the example of the deserters: but being apprised of the design 
with which the report had been propagated, Titus recalled the 
deserters from Gophne, and ordered them to make the tour of 
the walls attended by Josephus. The calumny being thus re- 
futed, a still greater number of the people were induced to revolt 
to the Romans. Being assembled on this occasion within sight 
of the Romans, with tears and lamentations they supplicated the 
faction to preserve their country by admitting the Romans into 
the town; or, at least, to depart from the temple, rather than 
provoke the enemy to destroy it by fire, to wdiich extremity they 
would not proceed, unless aggravated to adopt the measure by 
an inconsiderate perseverance in a fruitless opposition. This 
conduct served but to inflame the faction to a more extravagant 
degree of outrage. 

Titus now determined to make an assault upon the Jews; but, 
at the same time, consented to remain in the fort of Antonia, 
where he might witness their operations without exposing his 
person. The attack commenced at three o'clock in the morning, 
when the Romans were deceived in the expectation they had 
formed of surprising the Jews while asleep: the advanced guards 
resolutely opposed the assailants, and, at the same time joined in 
a general shout, which awakening their companions, great mul- 
titudes immediately came to their support. The Romans bravely 
withstood the shock made by the advanced guard; and when 
the other Jews came up, a scene of horror took place: through 
the darkness of the night, the confused sound of voices, fear, 
and the impulse of rage, their consternation was so great, that 
they destroyed both friends and enemies without distinction; 
and the Jews who fell by the hands of their own countrymen, 
were considerably more numerous than those who were slain by 
the enemy. The loss on the part of the Romans was not great; 
for they preserved a regular discipline, carefully defended them- 
selves with their bucklers, and had the advantage of knowing 
each other by means of the watch-word. Upon the appearance 
of day-light, the Jews discovered their error, and pursued the 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



597 



encounter with more regularity. Each party now employed 
darts, arrows, and other weapons; and, notwithstanding the con- 
test that had been maintained in the night, they appeared to suf- 
fer no abatement of courage or strength. 

The Romans conscious that their general was posted in a 
station where he could form an exact judgment respecting the 
behavior of his troops, and considering that their future pros- 
pects in life would depend on their conduct in the present action, 
fought with a noble emulation to surpass each other in martial 
exploits. The presence of John, who threatened, and even 
struck those of his people who appeared to be tardy in their 
duty, and encouraged the rest with promises of reward, added 
to the consideration that their own lives and the safety of the 
temple were at stake, induced the Jews to exert their utmost 
endeavors in opposing the enemy. Neither party was able to 
make any considerable retreat, the place not being sufficiently 
large for that purpose; and the battle was mostly maintained 
hand to hand, victory sometimes appearing to incline to one, and 
sometimes to the other side. The fort of Antonia was as a thea- 
tre, whence Titus and his friends commanded a full and perfect 
view of those who weie actively engaged in the scene, urging 
the Romans resolutely to pursue the advantages they gained? 
and exhorting them firmly to maintain their ground when they 
appeared to be in danger of a repulse from the Jews, and giving 
such directions as circumstances required. In short, the contest 
continued from the ninth hour of the night to the fifth on the 
following day; and when it was concluded, so resolutely had the 
combatants maintained their ground, it could not be decided 
which party had gained the advantage. 

Titus ordered the foundation of Antonia to be broken up to 
the very bottom; and, in the space of seven days, this work 
was completed, and a level passage formed for admitting the 
legions to march conveniently up to the walls. Titus now em- 
ployed his troops in erecting four mounts; the first facing the 
angle of the interior temple that looks towards the north and 
east; a second against the gallery, to the northward between the 
two gates; a third toward the west porch; and the fourth towards 
the north porch of the outward temple. The works were not 
completed without great difficulty and expense; for the Romans 
were under the necessity of conveying what materials they had 
occasion for from places at an hundred furlongs distant from Jeru> 
salem; and, placing great confidence in their strength, they ne- 
glected to guard "against surprises from the Jews, who, waiting 
for them on the way, frequently made desperate sallies from am= 
bushes, and put them to considerable loss and inconvenience. 

When the Romans went out in foraging parties they frequent- 
ly unbridled their horses, and turned them to graze; and when 



528 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



opportunities offered, the Jews sallied forth, seized and carried 
oif the animals. This being often repeated, Titus attributed 
the loss to the negligence of his troops, rather than to the enter- 
prising spirit of the enemy. He was not deceived in his conjec- 
ture: for having caused one of his soldiers to be put to death as a 
punishment for losing his horse, no instance of the like nature 
occurred in future. 

The platforms being now raised, and the Romans having 
made every other preparation necessary to the assault they had 
meditated, on the following day, a number of Jews belonging to 
the faction, who, being unable to procure the necessaries of 
life by their usual practice of pillage, and nearly on the point of 
starving, formed the resolution of attacking the Roman guards 
who were stationed on mount Olivet; and they advanced about 
the eleventh hour of the day, when they imagined their attempt 
would be most likely to succeed, as at that time it was usual for 
the enemy to take some respite from the fatigue of duty. 

The Romans observing the approach of the seditious multi- 
tude, collected all their force in order to repulse them. A terri- 
ble contest ensued, in which great exploits were performed by 
both parties. The Romans founded their hopes of success on 
their superior knowledge in the art of war; and the furious rage 
and impetuosity of the Jews induced them to believe that they 
were able to succeed in the most desperate attempts. The valor 
of the one party was excited by the dread of shame, and that of 
the other by the pressing exigency of their situation; for the Ro- 
mans conceived that they should incur indelible disgrace if they 
did not revenge themselves upon the Jews for the insolent at- 
tempt they had made; and the Jews had no prospect of escaping 
the vengeance of the enemy but by mere dint of force. 

Finding themselves considerably weakened by the losses sus- 
tained in divers combats, that the war daily raged with addi- 
tional violence, and that the temple was in the most imminent 
danger of being destroyed, the Jews resolved to ruin a part of 
the sacred edifice, in order to preserve the rest, as it is usual to 
amputate the extremities, lest mortification should be communica- 
ted to the more noble parts of the body. They set fire to that 
part of the gallery extending from the north to the east, and fa- 
cing the fort Antonia: and, in a short time, as much of the build- 
ing as occupied a space of near twenty cubits was entirely consu- 
med. Thus were the Jews the first who actually put the design 
in execution of effecting the destruction of the superb and holy 
structure, so deservedly celebrated throughout the universe. 

Two days having elapsed, the Romans, on the twenty-fourth of 
the same month, set fire to the remaining part of the gallery; and 
when the flames had gained fourteen cubits, the Jews destroyed 
the roof, as well as every other matter which was likely to serve 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



599 



as a communication with fort Antonia, though they might, had 
they been so inclined, have saved the place from the rage of the 
flames; but they were wholly regardless as to what course the 
mischief took, so it tended to promote their private views. Du- 
ring this time daily skirmishes took place in the neighborhood of 
the temple. 

At this juncture, the faction in the temple, soldiers on the 
mounts, and the rest of the Jews, devised the following strata- 
gem on the twenty-seventh day of the month above mentioned. 
They placed a large quantity of dry wood, sulphur, and bit- 
uminous matter, between the timbers and the top of the roof of 
the western porch; and then affecting to give way, as if an at- 
tack had been made on them, they retreated with every appear- 
ance of being driven out of a place of which they could no long- 
er hold the possession. Hereupon, a number of their opponents 
pursued them clolsely with the utmost eagerness, and put up lad- 
ders to get possession of the place, which the others had aband- 
oned: but they who reflected on the affair, deemed it to be a 
mere artifice, and therefore did not join in the pursuit. 

As soon as the Romans had crowded into the porch, the Jews 
set it on fire, and the whole building was immediately in flames, 
to the horror and confusion of those who were within, and the 
astonishment of those who viewed the conflagration at a distance. 
Some of the unhappy people threw themselves into wells and 
pits; others leaped from the houses, and ran for their lives: 
others again were smothered in the flames, while others threw 
themselves on their swords to avoid a death still more dreadful. 

Titus was greatly affected by this horrid sight, compassiona- 
ting, in a high degree, the misfortunes arising from so fatal a 
miscarriage. In the mean time, he was highly offended at his 
soldiers for having embarked in such an enterprise without pre- 
viously receiving his orders. They had, however, one satisfac- 
tion in the midst of their distress, to compensate for the loss of 
life; that they were pitied by the prince in whose service they 
suffered; for they could behold him giving his orders, and using 
his utmost endeavors to afford them relief; and all the evidences 
he gave of his regard were deemed momorials to his lasting hon- 
or. With regard to those persons who escaped the fury of the 
flames, they were attacked by the Jews, and every man of them 
was slain, after they had made all the resistance in their 
power. 

The fire destroyed the porch as far as the tower which John had 
built (during his war with Simon) on the pillars that led to his 
porch. After the Romans had been burnt by the Jews in the 
manner above recited, they destroyed the remainder of the build- 
ing; and the following day, the Romans set fire to the north 
porch, and continued this fire to the porch facing the eastward 



600 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



which commands the valley of Cedron, from a precipice, to take 
a downward view of which affords a prospect almost distracting. 

Thus unhappily were affairs situated in the neighborhood of 
the temple. The extreme severity of the famine had almost de- 
populated the city, and the miseries consequent on this calamity 
are beyond all recital. The skins of beasts, leather girdles, and 
shoes, were eaten, and even a handfull of old hay bore the price 
of four attics. 

In the village named Vetezobra, (that is the house of Hys- 
sop,) beyond the river Jordan, lived one Eleazar, who had a 
daughter named Mary. The family was rich, and their descent 
respectable. Now this Mary fled, in company with several other 
persons, and took refuge in Jerusalem, where it was their mis- 
fortune to be besieged. All the more -valuable effects that this 
woman brought with her she was deprived of by the tyrants; 
and, with regard to such articles as she had concealed, whether 
goods or provisions, the soldiers frequently broke open her house, 
and stole them from her. Irritated by this treatment, she re- 
viled the faction in terms of the utmost acrimony: but no lan- 
guage of which she was mistress, however severe, could provoke 
any of this abandoned set to put her to death, either from mo- 
tives of rage or pity. At length, tormented with the excrucia- 
ting pangs of a devouring famine, from which she saw no possi- 
bility of escaping, having no farther means of sustaining life, and 
being abandoned to the utmost rage of despair, she determined 
on a resolution more horrible than it is in the power of language 
to describe. 

She killed her infant; and, having boiled it, ate the half of it; 
and, covering up the remainder, put it away. The circumstance 
of her dressing food soon came to the knowledge of the faction, 
some of whom went to the house of the woman, and threatened 
her with immediate death if she did not produce what provisions 
she had in the house. Hereupon she fetched out that part of the 
child which still remained undevoured, and told them that was 
all the food she possessed. 

This sight had such an effect on the spectators, that they at 
first appeared petrified with horror, then trembled at the idea of 
what had passed, and were shocked at the consequences to be 
dreaded from it. On this, the woman addressed them as fol- 
lows: "Be assured that this is my son, the half of whom I have 
eaten myself, and request that you will eat the remainder; I 
flatter myself that you will not pretend to have more delicacy 
than a woman, or more compassion than a mother. But if you 
refuse the oblation through scruples of conscience, you are wel- 
come to leave the food where you have found it, only remember 
that I have eaten a part of it already." She had no sooner ended 
speaking, than they departed with evident signs of terror, leav- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



eoi 



ing, though against their inclinations, the remainder of the child 
with the unfortunate mother; the only circumstance of their 
whole conduct attended with any degree of delicacy. 

This shocking deed became immediately the subject of con- 
versation throughout the whole city: and every man appeared to 
detest the crime as much as if he himself had been immediately 
concerned in it. The tale soon spread from the Jews to the 
Romans, some of whom commiserated the calamities of the Jews, 
while others hated them the more for their misfortunes, and a 
third sort gave no credit to the recital. In the mean time, Titus 
solemnly declared his innocence respecting the whole matter, 
vowing, in the presence of God, that he exerted his utmost in- 
fluence to render the Jews easy and happy in their fortunes, lives, 
and liberties. "But," said he, "if the Jews were determined 
rather to destroy each other, than to live in the bands of frater= 
nal affection; if they preferred war rather than peace, and fam= 
ine rather than plenty, it was not in my power to prevent them, 
As they were determined to set fire to the temple with their own 
hands, while I did every thing in my power to preserve it, the 
flesh of their own children is as good food as such parents de- 
serve. For my own part, I am resolved that their iniquities 
shall but be the forerunners of their ruin; for 1 will not longer 
permit the existence of a city, in which mothers feed on their 
own children, and the fathers, with a still more horrid degree of 
impiety, continue the war, after such plain and evident demon= 
stration that the so doing is contrary to the will of Almighty 
God." Having said this, and reflected on the amazing obstinacy 
and incurable stubbornness of the faction, he looked on them 
as a people devoted to destruction; for he thought that the mise- 
ries they had already endured would have changed their senti= 
ments, if it had been in nature that such an effect could be 
wrought. 

Two of the legions having completed their platforms, Titus 
directed his battering-rams to be planted against the western gal- 
lery of the outward temple, on the eighth day of the month 
Lous. For "the space of six days successively, he played his best 
piece of battery against this place; but without effect; for the 
engines could make no impression on the work. In the interim* 
some of the troops were employed in sapping the foundations 
on the north side; but after a prodigious labor, they found that 
they could only move the outward stones, the porch still remain- 
ing firm; wherefore, finding that mines and batteries were inef- 
fectual to answer the purposes, the Romans had recourse to the 
use of their scaling-ladders. 

Though the Jews were unable to prevent their enemies fixing 
their ladders, yet they made an obstinate resistance in every part 
where it was possible to be made. Those who ascended the lad- 



602 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



ders were attacked immediately, before they had time to put 
themselves in a posture of defence: others they threw down as 
they were ascending: some they destroyed as they were advanc- 
ing with relief; and sometimes they overturned the ladders with 
the men upon them. On the whole, the Romans sustained a 
very considerable loss in this attack, especially in those contests 
which happened for the defence or recovery of their colors, which 
military people deem to be an affair of the utmost consequence. 
In the end, however, the Jews killed a number of the ensign- 
bearers, keeping such ensigns as they got possession of, a cir- 
cumstance which so discouraged the rest of the assailants, that 
they thought it prudent to retreat. However, to do justice to 
the besiegers, it must be acknowledged that not a single man 
among the slain disgraced the character of a Roman. Their 
opponents of the faction who had behaved well on former occa- 
sions, lost not their character for intrepidity; and Eleazar, the 
nephew of the tyrant Simon, was distinguished by his courage. 
Titus now finding that his own men were only devoted to 
ruin by his wishes to spare the temple of the enemy, he issu- 
ed orders that his troops should set fire to the gates without loss 
of time. 

At this juncture, two deserters from the Jews repaired to Ti- 
tus, Mattering themselves that their abandoning the faction at 
the time they had some advantage in their favor, would secure 
them the better reception. One of these deserters was Archelaus 
the son of Nagadathes; and the other Ananus, of Emmaus, one 
of Simon's guards, and deemed the most inhuman of all his at- 
tendants. The character of these men for cruelty was so well 
known to Titus, that he entertained some thoughts of putting 
both of them to death, notwithstanding their pretended attach- 
ment to his interest, being convinced that it was not an affection 
for his service, but consideration of their own safety that influen- 
ced their conduct. He thought that those who had first inflamed 
their country, and then abandoned it, were unworthy to live: 
but having reflected more seriously on the affair, he came to a 
resolution to spare them. 

By this time, the gates of the temple were burning furiously, 
the timbers being all on fire; and the silver work above the gates 
melted, while the flames extended even to the adjacent galleries. 
The Jews were so much surprised by this unexpected event, that 
finding themselves encompassed by the flames, they regarded 
each other with looks of the most extreme astonishment, not 
even attempting to preserve what yet remained uninjured, or 
affecting any concern for what was already destroyed. In a 
word, they were totally dispirited for any kind of enterprise; so 
that the fire continued to increase all that day and the succeeding 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 603 

night, till at length the galleries were totally burnt to the 
ground. 

On the following day, Titus issued out orders for the suppres- 
sion of the fire, and that the roads might be levelled for the 
march of his troops. His next step was to summon a council of 
his general officers, to concert the best mode of proceeding. 
These officers were Tiberius Alexander, his lieutenant general; 
Sextus Cerealis, the commander of the fifth legion; Lorgius 
Lepidus, of the tenth; and Titus Tigrius, who presided over 
the fifteenth; and to these were added Eternius Fronto, a 
captain of two of the legions of Alexander; and Marcus Anto- 
nius Julianus, governor of Judea; exclusive of colonels and 
other officers, whose opinion it was thought proper to take, on 
the mode of proceeding requisite to be pursued with respect to 
the affair of the temple. Of these, some recommended a strict 
adherence to the laws of arms, urging, that while the temple re- 
mained, and the Jews continued their frequent associations in it, 
they would never desist from their opposition. Others gave their 
votes for sparing the temple, on the condition that the Jews 
should abandon it, and that it should be no longer considered as 
an object of contention; but that if possession of it should be 
acquired by dint of the sword, in this case, that they should 
not hesitate to burn it; not considering it as a temple, but 
as a castle; since the blame would then rest with those "who 
compelled the burning it, not with those whom necessity ur- 
ged to the deed. Hereupon Titus gave his opinion, saying, 
"If the obstinacy of the Jews will convert a temple to a citadel, 
shall I take vengeance on their perverseness by wreaking my 
wrath on the stones of the building, and burn to ashes the 
most magnificent structure in the world on their account? In- 
deed, I am of opinion, that the robbing the empire of so distin- 
guished an ornament would be a disgrace to the characteristic 
majesty of Rome." Alexander, Cerealis, and Fronto, hearing 
the sentiments of Titus, coincided with him in opinion, on which 
the council was dismissed. Orders were now issued that the ar- 
my should be allowed to rest and take refreshment, in order to be 
better prepared for future enterprises. In the mean time, some 
select battalions were directed to observe the ravages made by 
fire, and to make proper passages through the ruins. 

The courage and strength of the Jews beginning now equally 
to fail them, they remained at peace during this day: but on the 
following day, about the second hour, having by that time re- 
cruited their spirits and acquired fresh resolution, they made a 
desperate sally through the eastern gate on the guards of the 
outward temple. At first, the Romans, under the protection of 
their bucklers, sustained the shock wiih the utmost resolution, it 

70 



604 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

making no more impression than it would have done against a 
stone wall; but all their courage and perseverance would not 
have enabled them long to hold out in opposition to so fierce and 
numerous an enemy, if Titus (who beheld the action from Anto- 
nia) had not instantly come to their relief before they had yielded 
to their antagonists. On this relief, some of the Jews fell back; 
and the Romans breaking in on their front, the main body fled 
with precipitation. After this the Romans retreated in their 
turn, while the Jews rallied and advanced in order of battle. 
Thus they continued alternately advancing or retreating, one 
party having now the advantage, and then the other, till about 
the fifth hour of the day, when the Jews were compelled to re- 
treat into the temple, and there enclose themselves. Hereupon 
Titus retired to Antonia, having come to a determination to make 
an assault on the temple on the following day with his whole ar- 
my. But it seemed evident that divine providence had originaily 
destined this place to be destroyed by fire, and that the period 
was at length arrived, that is to say, the tenth day of the month 
Lous, being the return of that day on which it had been hereto- 
fore burnt by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Of this last 
conflagration, however, the Jews themselves were the evident 
occasion: for no sooner had Titus left them at their repose, than 
the insurgents made a violent sally on his guards, while they were 
engaged, by the general's orders, in extinguishing the fire. But 
on this occasion, the Romans routed the Jews, and compelled 
them to retreat to the temple for refuge. 

An event happened at this period which took rise from the 
conduct of a private soldier, who thought himself actuated by a 
divine impulse, without pretending to any other authority for 
what he transacted. Having got on the shoulders of one of his 
comrades, he threw a fire-brand into the golden window that was 
opposite to the apartments on the north side of the temple. This 
action was no sooner done, than the place was in flames, which 
occasioned so violent a tumult among the Jews, that their coun- 
trymen hastened as fast as possible to their relief; for the present 
juncture, when every thing dear to them was at stake, was 
not a period in which to think of saving their lives or indulging 
themselves. 

Titus was just now laying down to repose himself in his tent, 
after the fatigue of the action, when intelligence of the confla- 
gration was brought to him; on which he immediately arose, 
and, ordering his chariot, proceeded to the temple to use a!l his 
authority towards the extinction of the fire. He was followed 
by his principal officers, and the legions; but in a contused man- 
ner, as may be supposed of such an immense number, who had 
not received regular orders for their proceeding. Titus exerted 
himself to the utmost of his power both by words and signs, in 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



605 



giving directions to stop the progress of the flames; but all his 
efforts were vain; the lesser noise was lost in the greater, nor 
were his words more heard than the signs and motions of his 
hands attended to. The soldiers were not to be governed by 
commands or threatenings, but, following the impulse of their 
rage, some were trodden on and pressed to death by the crowd, 
while others were suffocated by the smoke arising from the ruins 
of the galleries over the porches. The common soldiers who 
were in the temple urged, in excuse of their disobedience of the 
general's orders, that they could not hear what he said; while 
those who followed them gave orders that they should throw fire. 
In a word, the faction had no way to prevent what happened, 
and on which side soever they turned, destruction stared them in 
the face. The poor people, the sick, and the unarmed, were 
destroyed by the sword wherever they were found : numbers of 
unhappy wretches were left streaming in their own blood; dead 
bodies were piled in heaps around the altar, and the stairs were 
floated with deluges of blood. 

The fury of the soldiers had now arisen to such a height, that 
Titus, finding it impossible to restrain it, and that the fire con- 
tinued to make additional ravages every day, immediately pro- 
ceeded, with some of his officers of the first rank, into the inte- 
rior temple, where, on a careful survey of the place, he found 
that its splendor and magnificence greatly exceeded what com- 
mon fame had reported, and were, at least, equal to the very 
account propagated respecting it by the Jews. Titus having 
now remarked that the fire had not reached the sanctuary, and 
being of opinion that it might not yet be too late to preserve the 
holy place, instantly exerted himself, and entreated the soldiers, 
in the most earnest manner, to use their utmost endeavors to 
stop the progress of the flames; at the same time issuing strict 
orders to Liberalis, a centurion of the guards, to urge the accom- 
plishment of this business, and to punish those who refused their 
assistance. But so violent was the rage of the soldiers for re- 
venge, that they were not restrained within the bounds of their 
duty, either by the motives of respect or fear. At the very time 
that Titus was exerting his utmost endeavors to preserve the 
temple, one of the soldiers set fire to several of the door-posts; 
on which Titus and his officers were obliged to retire to such a 
distance, that their services could no longer avail; so that, in the 
end, the temple was destroyed, notwithstanding every generous 
effort Titus had made for its protection. 

During the time that the temple was in flames, the soldiers 
seized every person they could find ; and having first plunder- 
ed, they slew them, without paying the least attention to age, 
sex, or quality. The slaughter on this occasion was immense ; 
the old, the young, those of the priesthood, and those of the 



606 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



laity, persons of all ranks and all degrees, whether they sued 
for quarter or otherwise, were all involved in the general calam- 
ity of the war. 

As the fire continued to increase, the noise of the flames was 
heard, intermixed with the groans of persons in the agonies of 
death: and to those at a distance, the whole city appeared to be 
on fire, owing to the extent of the conflagration, and the depth 
of the hill. The confusion and disorder occasioned by this 
event were so great, as it is not in the power to describe them. 
The complaints and lamentations from the city were repeatedly 
echoed from the adjacent mountains and places beyond Jordan; 
but the calamity exceeded in reality all that could be expressed 
by the bewailings of the sufferers. The flames of fire were so 
violent and impetuous that the mountain on which the temple 
stood resembled one large body of fire, even from its foundation. 
The blood of the sufferers flowed in proportion to the raging of 
the flames; for the number of those who were slain exceeded that 
of their executioners. Dead bodies strewed the ground on ev- 
ery side, and the Roman soldiers trampled on the bodies of the 
slain in pursuit of the survivors. At length, however, a body 
of the insurgents repelled the Romans; and having forced a 
passage into the outward temple, effected their escape into the 
city, while the outward porch was gained by the remainder of 
their number. 

The Romans, now finding that the temple was reduced to 
ashes, were less anxious as to the preservation of any particular 
buildings: wherefore they set fire to most of the gates and gal- 
leries, at the same time sparing only one on the east side, and 
another on the south: in a short time afterwards these underwent 
the fate of the former. They likewise burnt the treasury and 
the wardrobe, containing an immense treasure in jewels and 
money, and rich habits to a very large amount; for, in fact, the 
Jews had made this place a repository of every thing that they 
deemed most valuable. 

By this time, the insurgents had fled into the city. The Ro- 
man army now placed their ensigns against the eastern gate, 
where they made sacrifices of thanksgiving, and proclaimed Ti- 
tus emperor with every possible demonstration of joy. So large 
a treasure in gold was now obtained in Syria, that it was redu- 
ced to half its accustomed value. 

The leaders of the faction, now finding how they were beset 
on all sides, and surrounded so that there was no possibility of 
their escape, proposed to enter into a treaty with the emperor: 
to which he, with his wonted benevolence of disposition, lent a 
favorable ear, partly, indeed, on the recommendation of his 
friends, and partly with a view to spare the city, in the hope that 
the insurgents, by their future conduct, might deserve his mercy. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



607 



Titus took his station on the west side of the interior temple, 
near the gates which led to the gallery; and between the temple 
and the upper town there was a bridge of communication by 
which the Romans and Jews were at this time separated. On 
each side, the soldiers crowded round their commanding officers; 
the Romans, on the one part, eager to see how Titus would re- 
ceive the supplicants; and the Jews, on the other, equally eager 
to learn what chance there was of receiving pardon. Titus 
having ordered his men to forbear making any acclamations, 
and to keep the strictest peace and most profound silence, inti- 
mated to the Jews by an interpreter that it was his province to 
speak first, addressed them in a speech, in which, after reproach- 
ing them fortheir crimes, he promised, that all, except their lead- 
ers, should receive his pardon on submission. 

To this address, the faction returned an answer, importing 
that they could not surrender on any promise or assurance of 
safety that the emperor could make, as they were solemnly 
sworn not to make any submission; but, with his permission, 
they were ready to retire with their wives and children into the 
desert, and leave to the Romans the possession of the city. En- 
raged by the idea of prisoners giving law and prescribing terms 
to the conqueror, Titus caused proclamations to be immediately 
made, intimating that for the future, no Jew should presume to 
apply to him for quarter or protection: but they now might have 
recourse to arms, and defend themselves in the best manner in 
their power; for that the laws of war should hereafter determine 
his conduct towards them. 

Hereupon the soldiers had immediate permission to attack 
them with fire and sword, and to apply the plunder they could 
obtain in the city to their own use. On the present day no step 
was taken; but, on the following morning, they set fire to the 
council-chamber, the castle, the register-office, and a place nam- 
ed Ophlas, whence the flames spread to queen Helen's palace in 
the middle of the mount, destroying wherever they came, and 
burning a great number of dead bodies which crowded the 
streets and houses in every part. 

The next proceeding of the insurgents was to advance to the 
royal palace, a place of great strength and security, in which 
treasure to an immense amount was deposited. From this palace 
the Jews routed the Romans, of whom they killed about eight 
thousand four hundred, and made prize of all the treasure to an 
immense amount. In the course of this engagement, two of the 
Roman soldiers were made prisoners, one of them of the cavalry, 
the other of the infantry. The latter was first put to death, and 
then dragged through the streets of the city, as if the intention 
had been to deride the whole nation by the insult offered to one 
unhappy wretch. The other prisoner, pretending that he had a 



608 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



circumstance of some consequence to disclose, was immediately 
conducted to Simon; but, on his arrival he had nothing to 
mention that was deemed of the least consequence: wherefore 
Ardalas, one of Simon's officers, received orders to put him to 
death. Hereupon his hands were bound behind him, a cloth 
was tied over his eyes, and he was conducted from Simon's pre- 
sence to be beheaded within view of the Romans: but just in 
the instant that the executioner was drawing his sword to perform 
his duty, the prisoner slipped from him, and effected an escape 
to the Romans. This circumstance being made known to Titus, 
he considered the case, and would not adjudge him to death for 
deserting from the enemy in so critical a situation: but deemed it 
so disgraceful for a Roman soldier to be taken prisoner, that he 
ordered him to be disarmed and cashiered, a punishment even 
worse than death in the opinion of a man of honor. 

On the following day, it happened that the Romans routed the 
Jews from the lower town, on which occasion they set fire to all 
the buildings as far as Siloah, and were happy to see the de- 
struction occasioned by the conflagration; but they acquired no 
treasure, for the insurgents had already safely deposited this in 
the upper town. It is worthy ofremark that the rebels were not 
of a disposition to lament any calamities their vices had occasion- 
ed; and they comported themselves with their accustomed pride, 
even when fortune appeared to be their determined foe. They 
seemed to behold the burning of the city with a degree of pleas- 
ure, and publicly said, that as affairs were then situated, the 
approach of death would not create in them the least degree of 
concern or regret. They had seen the destruction of the people 
almost to annihilation, they had been witnesses to the temple be- 
ing burned to the ground, they had viewed the city in flames, 
and were now pleased that the Romans, who were to succeed 
them, could not take possession of any thing that might afford 
them satisfaction. 

While affairs were in this situation, Josephus exerted his ut- 
most endeavors for the preservation of the few remaining inhabit- 
ants of a ruined and almost depopulated city. He applied him- 
self to the passions of the people, by every art of invective com- 
plaint, advice, and encouragement: but all he could say tended 
to answer no valuable purpose: the Jews were not only bound 
by the sacred obligations of their oaths, but almost subdued by 
the superior numbers of the Romans, exclusive of which they 
were inured to blood, and familiar with destruction. 

In this unhappy situation of affairs they dispersed themselves 
throughout the city, searching all the ruins, vaults, and other 
places of secretion, for such as had deserted. Great numbers 
of these being seized, they were all put to death: for they were 
so weak that they could not seek their safety by flight, and the 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



609 



dead bodies were thrown to the dogs. Still, however, famine 
threatened a death more dreadful than any other. Many of the 
Jews now deserted to the Romans in mere despair; for they could 
not entertain any other expectation, than they might be immedi- 
ately put to death to prevent the miseries of starving. The in- 
surgents likewise shared the same fate, having been instigated by 
the same motives. There was not a single street but what was 
bestrewed with the bodies of the dead, some of whom had been 
starved, and the rest falling a sacrifice to the rage of the pes- 
tilence. 

The insurgents placed their last hope in concealment. They 
sought every private place 6f retreat, vainly hoping that they 
might remain concealed till the contest should be at an end, and 
the Romans had abandoned their place ; they then imagined that 
their escape might be safely effected, without reflecting that the 
all-seeing eye of justice could penetrate into the most secret re- 
cesses. The Jews who had taken possession of the subterrane- 
ous retreats were authors of more calamity than the Romans in 
setting fire to the place. They first robbed and then murdered 
all who retired for safety to these places. The famine now ra- 
ged to such a degree, that violent contentions arose respecting 
the coarsest and most loathsome food. I am of opinion, that if 
the famine had continued for any considerable time longer, they 
who survived would have made no scruple of feeding on the dead 
bodies of the deceased. 

Such was the situation of the upper town on crags and preci- 
pices, that Titus thought it would be an impossibility to get 
possession of it without the erection of new mounts, wherefore he 
ordered that these works should be commenced on the twentieth 
day of the month Lous. It has been heretofore remarked that 
carriage was very expensive, and attended with great trouble; 
for to the distance of one hundred furlongs from the town, the 
materials had all been cut down for the construction of the works 
heretofore erected. The four legions now threw up a mount on 
the west side of the city opposite the royal palace; while the 
auxiliaries and the other forces threw up another mount near the 
gallery and the bridge, and fortified the place known by the name 
of Simon's tower, which had been constructed by Simon during 
his war with John. 

At this period some of the Idumean officers held a council to- 
gether concerning how their whole body should go over to the 
interest of the Pvomans. Having fixed on their plan, they dis- 
patched five deputies to Titus to make an offer of their services; 
and, by these, they sent a petition, imploring the emperor's mer- 
cy in the name of their whole people. It must be acknowledged, 
that this application was made very late in point of time: but Ti- 
tus, thinking that Simon and John would make no farther resist- 



610 



HISTORY OE THE JEWS. 



ance after so capital a desertion, dismissed the deputies with an 
answer importing that he would grant the petitioners their lives; 
for the truth was that he deemed the Idumeans to be the most 
formidable of his opponents. 

The above mentioned plot having been discovered, Simon 
gave orders that the five deputies should be instantly put to 
death, and that imprisonment should be the lot of those from 
whom they had received their directions, of whom James, the 
son of Soas, was deemed to be the principal. As the leaders 
were now in subjection, no great mischief was apprehended from 
the common soldiers; notwithstanding which a stricter guard was 
kept over the remainder of the Idumeans than had been here- 
tofore thought necessary; but every effort that could be devised 
proved ineffectual to prevent their deserting to the Romans. It 
is true that many of them were slain in the attempt, but still 
greater numbers effected their escape, all of whom were received 
by Titus, who had so much generosity and benevolence, that he 
declined to press the rigorous execution of his former orders; 
while even the common soldiers, partly satiated with the blood 
they had spilt, and partly in the hope of obtaining booty be- 
gan now to conduct themselves with more lenity and moderation 
than they had heretofore done. 

By this time, there were none remaining but the inferior kind 
of people: and these, together with their wives and children, 
were publicly sold like beasts in the market; and at very low 
prices too, for the purchasers were but few in number. Titus, 
now reflecting on this circumstance, and on the proclamation 
which he himself had issued, directing that no more of the Jews 
should desert to him singly, thought it his duty, as a man of hu- 
manity, to preserve as many of them as possible; and therefore 
determined to revoke his former order, and to receive as many of 
them as should come to him separately; but he would not re- 
ceive any number together. He appointed proper persons to in- 
quire into their characters, to discriminate between the worthy 
and the unworthy, and to treat every man according to his de- 
serts. 

At this period, there was a priest named Jesus, the son of 
Thebuth, who compounded for his life with the emperor, on con- 
dition of his delivering up several of the ornaments belonging to 
the temple, with some vessels and other articles that had been 
presented thereto. In pursuance of this contract, he conveyed 
out of the temple, and handed over the wall several tables, gob- 
lets, and cups, with a pair of candlesticks, all made of the finest 
gold. He likewise presented the emperor with a considerable 
number of the vessels used in sacrifice, with precious stones, veils, 
and the habits used by the priests. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



611 



About this time, likewise, Phineas, the keeper of the sacred 
treasure, being taken prisoner, he gave up a vast number of the 
habits and girdles belonging to the priests, together with scarlet 
and purple stuffs which had been carefully laid by for future use. 
He likewise made a discovery of a quantity of cinnamon, cassia, 
gums, and perfumes which were used for incense daily offered, 
together with a number of sacred ornaments and effects which 
were the property of private persons. Now though Phineas was 
a lawful prisoner, regularly taken in open war, yet, in considera- 
tion of these discoveries, he was treated with as- much lenity as if 
he had made them through the mere effect of his own inclination. 

After the expiration of eighteen days, the erection of the 
mounts was completed on the seventh day of the month Gorpiae- 
us, (answering to September,) at which time the Romans advan- 
ced with their engines for battery. Many of the insurgents, now 
dispairing to hold possession of the place any longer, abandoned 
the walls and retired to the castle, while others concealed them- 
selves in vaults and subterraneous passages. Still, however, there 
were some more obstinate than the rest, who were determined to 
oppose those who had the management of the batteries. In the 
mean time, the enemy was greatly superior to them in numbers 
and strength; and the Romans had the farther advantage, that 
their troops were in full health and spirits, and animated with the 
success they had obtained over an enemy that, having been un- 
fortunate in their undertakings, were dejected by their losses, 
and almost abandoned to dispair. 

As often as any of the Jews observed a flaw in the wall, or 
that any of the turrets yielded to the impression made by the 
battering engines, they sought their safety by immediately flying 
from the place of apprehended danger; till at length even Simon 
and John were terrified even to the borders of dispair, and fled 
before the Romans were advanced within such a distance as to 
be able to do them a personal injury; for their fears operated to 
such a degree, that they were frightened at danger whether real 
or apprehended. Though these men were some of the most 
abandoned of the human race, yet the extreme calamity they en- 
dured could scarcely fail of exciting pity in the breast of those 
who so lately knew them boasting of their imagined consequence, 
and triumphing in all the height of presuming arrogance. The 
change in their affairs was, indeed, very great, and distressing in 
the highest degree. 

John and Simon now made an attempt on the wall which had 
been erected round the city by the Romans. They succeeded, 
in fact, so far in this attempt, as to make a breach in the wall; 
and their intention was to have attacked the guards, and by that 
means to have effected their escape. But when they expected to 
have been properly supported in this attack, they found that all 



612 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



their friends had abandoned them: wherefore they retreated in 
confusion, as they were led by their fears and apprehensions. 

In this distracted state of affairs, every man told such a tale as 
was inspired by his own apprehensions. While one brought in- 
telligence that the whole of the wall to the westward was over- 
thrown, others asserted the Romans were at the foot of this wall; 
and a third party declared that they had entered the city, and 
that some of them were in actual possession of the towers. Their 
imaginations appeared to realize their fears: they fell prostrate 
on the ground, lamenting their unhappy fate, bewailing their 
follies, and remained in a state of desperation of which no lan- 
guage can convey an idea. 

The goodness and the power of God were remarkable, and 
likewise equally conspicuous on this occasion; for the tyrannical 
leaders of the opposition were eventually the occasion of their 
own destruction, by abandoning those forts of their own accord 
which could never have been taken unless the besieged had been 
starved out; and this they did after the Jews had in vain spent 
much time on other erections of inferior strength. By this provi- 
dential turn of affairs, the Romans became masters of three im- 
pregnable forts, which they could never have acquired in any 
other manner; for the three towers were absolutely proof against 
battery of every kind. 

No sooner had Simon and John, influenced by the impulse of 
a judicial frenzy, abandoned the towers above mentioned, than 
they hurried away to the vale of Siloah, where they reposed 
themselves for a short time after the fatigue they had undergone- 
Having refreshed themselves, and recalled their scattered ideas, 
they assaulted the new wall at the above mentioned place; but 
their efforts were so feeble, that they were easily repulsed by the 
guards; for their misery, despair and fatigue, had so reduced 
them, that they had no strength remaining, and were glad to 
creep away with their adherents, and conceal themselves in 
vaults and caverns. 

The walls being now in possession of the Romans, they hoist- 
ed their colors on the towers, and exulted with the most cheerful 
acclamations at the happy conclusion of a war which promised 
so little in the commencement: for they were compelled to believe 
that the war was at length ended, unless they had been disposed 
to discredit the evidence of their own senses. 

By this time the soldiers had spread themselves into every part 
of the city, ranging through the streets with drawn swords, and 
sacrificing to their rage every one they saw without distinction. 
They set fire to the houses and burnt them and all their contents 
to the ground. In many houses into which they entered in search 
of plunder, they found every person of the families dead, and 
the iiouse in a manner filled with the bodies of those who had 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



613 



perished through hunger; wherefore, shocked at such a sight, 
they frequently returned without seizing their intended booty. 
Yet, notwithstanding this apparent respect they showed to the de- 
ceased, they gave no proofs of their humanity to the living; for 
they put every man to the sword who fell in their way, till at 
length the bodies of the dead filled up all the alleys and narrow 
passes, while their blood flowed to such a degree as to run down 
the channels of the city in streams. Towards night they gave 
over the practice, but renewed their depredations by means of 
fire. 

The conflagration of the city of Jerusalem ended on the eighth 
day of the month Gorpiaeus. Jerusalem was a city that must 
undoubtedly have been the envy of the universe in all the pros- 
perity that attended it from its original foundation, had it borne 
any proportion to the misfortunes and calamities which befel it in 
the course of the siege above mentioned; and what aggravated 
these judgments was, that her own sons proved her destruction, 
and that she had nursed a race of vipers to prey on the body of 
the parent. 

Titus employed himself in taking a survey of the ruins of this 
distinguished city: while admiring the works and fortifications, 
and particularly the fortress which the usurpers, in the extrava- 
gance of their folly, had abandoned — while he was contempla- 
ting the situation, dimensions, and elevation of the towers, with 
the elegance of the structures, the curiosity of the design and 
workmanship, and the masterly execution of the whole, he ex- 
pressed himself in the following manner: "If our military opera- 
tions had not been aided by the immediate interposition of hea- 
ven, it would have been impossible that we should ever have pos- 
sessed ourselves of these fortresses. In a word, it was God 
who fought for and aided us against the Jews: for a deed has 
been accomplished, which the hands of men or the force of en- 
gines could never have effected." 

Titus having delivered himself to this effect, and said much 
more to the same purpose, his next business was to restore to 
liberty all those prisoners whom the oppressors had left in the 
towers. This being done, and the razing and demolition of the 
city completed, these towers alone excepted, he gave orders for 
sparing them as a memorial of his good fortune and success; for 
unless they had been abandoned, this success could never have 
arisen. 

By this time the soldiers were perfectly fatigued with the work 
of slaughter, notwithstanding much appeared yet to be done. 
However, Titus commanded his men to desist so far as to the 
sparing all who should not be found in arms, or offer to make re- 
sistance: yet, notwithstanding these directions, the soldiers ex- 
ceeded their orders, and put to death the sick and the aged 



614 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



without pity or remorse. They who appeared to be in full health, 
and fit for service, were imprisoned in the temple, and in that 
quarter heretofore destined to the use of women. Fronto, one 
of the freed men and friend of Titus, was deputed to inquire into 
the cases of the prisoners, and to treat them according to their 
deserts. The abandoned, the seditious, and those who mutually 
charged each other with crimes, were put to death without mer- 
cy: but Titus preserved the young and healthy, particularly 
those of a comely appearance, to grace his triumph on his en- 
trance into Rome. All those who remained after this selection, 
and were above seventeen years of age, were sent in chains into 
Egypt to be employed as slaves; and those who were under 
seventeen exposed to sale, some only excepted, who were sent 
into the various provinces of the empire to be engaged as gladia- 
tors in the several theatres. 

In the interim, no less than eleven thousand of the prisoners, 
who were under the care of Fronto, were starved to death; 
partly owing to their obstinacy in the refusal of provisions, and 
partly to the severity of their overseers, who neglected to sup- 
ply them in a proper manner: but one great cause which aggra- 
vated this calamity, was the want of sufficient provisions for 
such an immense number. 

Thus ended the important and melancholy siege; and the 
Roman soldiers having no living object on which to wreak their 
further vengeance, (for if they had, that vengeance would have 
been continued,) Titus gave orders that they should reduce the 
city and temple to a level with the ground, and not to leave 
any building standing, except the three distinguished towers, so 
often mentioned, which bore the names of Hippocus, Phasael, 
and Mariamne; and a part of the wall to the westward of the 
city, on which he intended to erect a garrison. The towers 
were ordered to remain as an evidence to future times of the 
skill and power of the Romans in becoming possessed of them. 
This order was executed with the utmost strictness, and the rest 
of the city totally demolished and razed even to the ground; 
so that it scarcely appeared to have been the residence of hu- 
man creatures. Thus the factious multitude, whose seditions 
had created all the misfortunes, were reduced; and thus, like- 
wise, was reduced the most distinguished city on the face of the 
earth. 

About this period, Simon, the son of Giaras was made a 
prisoner, in consequence of the following singular circumstance: 
When Jerusalem was so closely besieged that Simon was com- 
pelled to take refuge in the upper town, and when the Romans 
had actually got into the city he was almost distracted to know 
how to dispose of himself; and at length he adopted the follow- 
ing plan. Having sent for a number of stone-cutters, miners, 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



615 



smiths, and persons well skilled in iron works: and having pro- 
vided a great number of tools and materials proper for their 
purpose, and provisions for a considerable time, they descended 
all together into a dark and private vault. In this place, they 
worked their way as far as they were able; but, finding the pas- 
sage too narrow to answer their intentions, they began to dig 
and mine, with a view to open a passage through which they 
might effect their escape; but though they managed their pro- 
visions in the most frugal manner possible, they fell short before 
they had made any considerable progress in their work, by which 
means the whole plan failed. Reduced to the utmost neces- 
sity, Simon had recourse to a singular device to terrify the Ro- 
mans. In pursuance of his plan he dressed himself in a white 
garment, which was buckled round him, over which was thrown 
a purple cloak. Thus habited, he ascended from the ground, 
under the ruins of the late temple, to the astonishment of the sol- 
diers, and others who beheld the apparition. As he advanced 
towards them, the soldiers assumed sufficient courage to demand 
his name and business; but Simon refused to answer their ques- 
tions, and demanded to speak with the captain of the guard. 
Hereupon, they immediately sent to Terentius Rufus, who at that 
time had the command: and he soon discovered who Simon 
was, ordered him to be immediately put in chains, and then re- 
lated all the particulars of the affair to Titus. 

Simon was presented to Titus bound in chains, whereupon he 
gave orders that he should be detained a prisoner to grace his 
triumphant entry into Rome. Some short time after his arrival, 
he appointed a day for the celebration of the nativity of his broth- 
er Domitian, with the utmost grandeur and magnificence: on 
this occasion, a great number of condemned persons were sacri- 
ficed to the splendor of the ceremony; for of those who were de- 
stroyed by beasts, by fire, or in combats with each other, it was 
calculated that not less than two thousand five hundred perished; 
yet, such was the inveteracy of the Romans against the Jews, that 
they thought even this number too small. 

Some time after this, Titus went to Berytus, a city of Phoe- 
nicia, and one of the Roman colonies. In this place he con- 
tinued some time, and there celebrated the anniversary of the 
birth of his father Vespasian, even with a greater degree of pomp 
and splendor than he had done that of his brother, both with re- 
spect to the article of expense, and the public shows exhibited. 

From Berytus, Titus proceeded to Antioch, where he rejected 
some frivolous accusations which were brought by the citizens 
against the Jews. Thence he continued his journey to Egypt, 
and embarked at Alexandria for Rome, having previously to his 
embarkation dispatched the two legions that attended him to their 
former stations, that is, the fifth was sent to Mysia, and the tenth. 



616 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



to Hungary. Simon and John, with seven hundred of the most 
comely of the prisoners, were ordered to be sent into Italy, that 
they might dignify the triumph of Titus on his entry into 
Rome. 

Titus had a most favorable and agreeable voyage, and was re- 
ceived with as great honor and respect as his father had been 
before him; and exclusive of this general respect from the peo- 
ple, Vespasian went out in person to meet and congratulate him; 
a circumstance highly grateful to the public, who now beheld 
the father and his two sons meeting together in circumstances of 
the most auspicious nature. 

In a short time after this, the senate passed a decree for two 
separate triumphs, the one in honor of the father, the other in 
that of the son; but notwithstanding this determination, Vespa- 
sian and Titus resolved that the solemnity to their mutual honor 
should be jointly celebrated. When the day was fixed on which 
it was to take place, there was hardly a single person in the city 
who did not attend as a spectator; so that when the whole mul- 
titude was assembled together, there was scarcely room enough 
left for the emperor and his son to pass. Before the break of 
day, the soldiers marched to the palace gates, near the temple of 
Isis, in regular order, preceded by their officers, to wait the ar- 
rival of the princes, who had lodged the preceding night in the 
temple above mentioned. 

Soon after the dawn of the morning, Vespasian and Titus 
came forward, being clothed in purple robes, according to the 
custom of their country, and having on their heads crowns of 
laurel. They proceeded to the Octavian walks, at which place 
the senate, nobility, and knights of Rome, waited for their arrival. 
Before the portal there was erected a tribunal on which they as- 
cended, and reposed themselves on seats of ivory, which had 
been placed there on the occasion; and being thus situated, 
orations were made in their praise, while the surrounding multi- 
tude testified their joy by the loudest acclamations. On this oc- 
casion, the princes wore no arms; and while the orators were 
rapidly declaiming in their praise, Vespasian made a signal for si- 
lence, which being strictly obeyed by every person present, he 
stood up; and having thrown his robe over a part of his head, 
he offered up certain prayers, agreeable to the custom on such 
occasions; and in this, Titus followed his example. This being 
done, Vespasian addressed the company in a concise speech, and 
then dismissed the military people to regale themselves at his ex- 
pense. In the next place, Vespasian and Titus proceeded to the 
triumphal gate, which received its name on account of the grand 
procession passing that way. Here they took some refreshment; 
and, being then arrayed in their triumphal habiliments, they of- 
fered up sacrifices at the gate, and then proceeded in great pomp 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



617 



and solemnity through the midst of the crowd, that all the people 
might be gratified by a sight of them. 

It is impossible for language to convey any adequate idea of 
the splendor and magnificence of this public exhibition, whether 
the expense and contrivance of it, or the novelty of its ornaments 
be considered. On this occasion, all the most valuable curiosi- 
ties which the Roman nation had been collecting through a long 
succession of ages, were combined to furnish the splendid triumph 
of one day, and displayed as a monument of the national gran- 
deur. So great a number of curious performances in gold, sil- 
ver and ivory, equally valuable for their cost and their admirable 
contexture, were now exhibited to the public view, that they 
seemed rather a confusion than a regular display of riches. 
There likewise appeared such an amazing variety of purple gar- 
ments and Babylonian embroideries, together with jewels and 
other stones of great value, which were disposed into the forms 
oL crowns, and other devices, that what used to be accounted cu- 
rious, was now no longer deemed so. Images of the gods of the 
Romans were carried in procession, which were extraordinary for 
their size and constructure; and besides these, there were resem- 
blances of various sorts of living creatures, which were dressed 
so as to answer their characters. 

A great number of people dressed in cloth of gold and purple, 
carried these pageants through the streets; and they who were 
more immediately appointed to attend the pompous train, were 
habited in garments of a singularly splendid appearance. Even 
the very prisoners that made a part of the train, were dressed 
with unusual decency, to hide the misery of their condition, and 
conceal the marks of slavery that appeared in their countenances: 
but in all the procession, nothing was so extraordinary as the car- 
rying of the machines, many of them were three or four stories 
in height, so that it is astonishing how the bearers could support 
them. The expense of these was proportioned to the contrivance 
of them; for the furniture and hangings were embroidered with 
sold, ivory, and other things of high value. 

In the procession were likewise the most lively and picturesque 
representations of war and all its attendant circumstances. In 
one place was to be seen the appearance of a fruitful country to- 
tally laid waste; in another, the destruction of armies; some be- 
ing killed, some flying, and others taken prisoners: there were 
the resemblance of walls levelled with the ground, forts destroy- 
ed, fortified cities entered through breaches, towns taken by sur- 
prise and streets streaming with blood, while the vanquished 
were imploring for mercy. Houses appeared to be falling on the 
heads of their owners while temples were apparently in flames, 
and rivers wound their course through the conflagrations, instead 
of supplying water to man and beast, and refreshing the fields 



618 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



and meadows with their streams. Nor was this any other than 
an admirable representation of the suffering Jews, so finely con- 
trived by the ingenuity of art, that to those who were acquaint- 
ed with the fate of Jerusalem, it might seem to be a well told 
story of the destruction of that celebrated city. 

On each of the pageants was a representation of the manner 
in which some town or city was taken, with a figure of the gov- 
ernor of the place. To these succeeded a view of the shipping, 
and then were exhibited the spoils that were taken in various pla- 
ces, of which the most considerable were the golden table and 
the golden candlestick, which were found in the temple at Jeru- 
salem. The first of these weighed several talents, and the latter 
was never applied to the use for which it had been designed. 
This candlestick consisted of a large foot, from which there as- 
cended a sort of pillar, and from that pillar, as from the body of 
a tree, there arose seven branches, the top of each branch re- 
sembling a lamp; and the number was seven, in reference to the 
esteem in which the seventh day is held by the Jews. The next, 
and indeed the last trophy exhibited of the conquest which the 
Romans had made, was the code of Jewish laws, which was fol- 
lowed by figures of ivory and gold, intended as an emblematical 
representation of victory; and the procession was closed by Ves- 
pasian, Titus and Domitian, all mounted on fine horses, elegantly 
caparisoned, and appearing with a dignity becoming their high 
rank; and in this splendid manner, they proceeded together to 
the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and thus put an end to the 
procession. 

When they had arrived at the temple, they remained there for 
a short time, in conformity to an ancient custom, which rendered 
it necessary that they should stay in that place till they received 
advice of the death of the general who had commanded the army 
of the enemy. The general on the present occasion was Simon 
Gioras, (who had been led in triumph through the streets,) round 
whose neck a rope being fixed, he was drawn through the mar- 
ket-place, those who drew him putting him to death, agreeable 
to the laws and usages of the Romans in the case of notorious 
offenders. Intelligence being brought that Simon was dead, the 
very air was rent with the shouts and acclamations of the multitude. 

The people then offered up vows and sacrifices: and this sol- 
emn business being discharged, Vespasian and his sons returned 
to the palace, where they gave a most magnificent entertainment 
on the occasion. Indeed the whole city exhibited one general 
scene of joy and festivity, and public thanks were every where 
offered for the final victory which had now been obtained over 
their enemies; a victory which seemed to promise a lasting tran- 
quility, while it redounded to the immortal honor of the heroes 
who had acquired it. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



619 



As soon as the triumphs were ended, and the peace of the em- 
pire was secured, Vespasian caused a temple to be erected and 
dedicated to Peace. This edifice was remarkable for its richness 
and elegance, and still more so for the short space of time in which 
it was constructed. It was adorned with a great abundance of 
curious pieces of painting and sculpture, which had been col- 
lected at an immense expense; and it was, on the whole, so 
magnificent and elegant a building, that persons came from all 
parts of the world to obtain a sight of it. The golden table and 
the candlestick, as articles of inestimable value, Vespasian caused 
to be placed in this temple. With regard to the code of Jewish 
laws, and the purple vestments of the sanctuary, they were de- 
posited with the utmost care in the royal palace. 

The emperor having granted a commission to Lucilius Bassus, 
appointing him to be lieutenant-general of Judea, he thereupon 
succeeded Cerealis Petilianus in the command of the army, and 
soon rendered himself master of the castle of Herodian by treaty. 
This being done, he collected his troops which were stationed in 
different parts of the country, proposing by the assistance of the 
tenth legion, to reduce Machaeras, as a work of indispensable 
necessity, since that place was so remarkably strong, that it was 
a kind of incitement to acts of rebellion; and its situation was 
such as to inspire those in possession of it with fresh courage^ 
though, on the other hand, it was calculated to repress the ardor 
of an assailant. 

Machaeras is situated on a mountain of immense height, and 
is of so strong a nature, that it is rendered almost impregnable. 
It is likewise, in a manner, inaccessible; for nature has surround- 
ed it with valleys that are almost impassable, and cannot be filled 
up. These valleys are of such a depth as not to be surveyed 
from the mountain without horror. The mountain stretches sixty 
furlongs to the west, and approaches almost close to the lake As- 
phaltites, and the castle commands a very extensive view of the 
district on that side. 

To the north and south the valleys are very extensive, and ap* 
pear to be equally well calculated for the defence of the place. 
On the east, the depth of the valley is not less than a hundred 
cubits; and opposite Machaeras is a mountain to which this val- 
ley extends. This place was originally fortified by Alexander, 
king of the Jews, who built a castle on it: but this castle was 
afterwards destroyed by Gabinius, when he made war on Aristo- 
buius: but Herod the Great, thinking this mountain well worthy 
of his attention, particularly in case of any dispute with the Ara- 
bians, who were remarkably well situated to annoy him, he 
caused a strong wall, fortified with turrets, to be built round it, 
and erected a handsome city, in which he placed a colony of in- 
habitants; and from the city he made a passage up to the castle. 

72 



620 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



Round the castle, at the top, he built another wall, at the 
angles of' which were turrets sixty cubits in height; and, in the 
midst of the inclosure, he caused a large and elegant palace to 
be erected, which was supplied with water from a variety of 
cisterns; so that the situation and conveniences of this place 
seemed to have arisen from a happy conjunction of nature and 
art, each contributing in a liberal manner to its improvement. 
Herod, likewise, deposited in the castle an immense store of mili- 
tary arms, engines, arrows, &c. ; and stocked it with a great 
quantity and variety of provisions; so that there could be little 
danger of the garrison being reduced either by famine or force. 

When Bassus had taken a careful survey of MachEeras, he came 
to a determination to besiege the place: and, for this purpose, 
he intended to have filled up the valley to the eastward of the 
town, and to make his approach from that quarter. His first 
proceeding was to throw up a mount opposite the castle with all 
possible expedition, as the readiest way to insure his success. 
The Jews who were natives of the city, now divided themselves 
from those who were strangers, whom they dismissed as persons 
who were unworthy a connection with them, and sent them into 
the lower town to sustain the first shock, themselves taking pos- 
session of the castle, which, from its strength, they thought 
would be the most defensible, and a place from which, in case 
of necessity, it was probable that they might make the best terms 
with the Romans. In the mean time they exerted their utmost 
industry to repel the attacks of the besiegers. There was not a 
day passed in which the Jews did not sally forth in a determined 
manner, when violent skirmishes ensued, and both parties lost a 
considerable number of men. The advantage lay sometimes on 
one side and sometimes on the other; the Jews being successful 
when they attacked the Romans by surprise, and the latter being 
the victors when they were properly advised of the advance of 
the enemy, and had time to prepare for their reception. But it 
appeared evident that the siege was not to end in this manner, 
since a most singular accident reduced the Jews to the disagree- 
able necessity of surrendering the castle. 

In Machaeras there was a young man of a spirit remarkably 
bold, daring and enterprising. His name was Eleazar, and 
he exerted himself in a very extraordinary manner, both by 
advice and example, to cheek the progress of the Romans, 
and encourage his countrymen to oppose their proceedings. 
This Eleazar frequently sallied forth in a most determined man- 
ner, and was constantly the first man to begin an encounter, and 
the last to retreat when retreat became absolutely necessary. 
Now it happened after the conclusion of a skirmish on a parti- 
cular day, when both parties were retired, that Eleazar determin- 
ed to evince his utter contempt of danger; and to prove that he 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 



621 



was incapable of fearing anj man, stopped without the gate of 
the city, and entered into an idle conversation with some of the 
Jews that were on the walls, seeming to pay no kind of regard to 
any thing that might pass around him. 

Eleazar being now within view of the Romans in their encamp- 
ment, an Egyptian soldier, named Rufus, took an opportunity 
to run to him unnoticed, and, seizing him with all his accoutre- 
ments, conveyed him to the enemy. The prisinor was no sooner 
brought, than Bassus directed that he should be stripped, laid on 
the ground, and publicly whipped within view of those in the 
city. The distressful situation of this youth afflicted the Jews to 
such a degree, that the generality of them burst into tears, and 
lamented his unhappy fate. Bassus finding how exceedingly con- 
cerned the people in general were for the misfortunes of this one 
man, a thought struck him that he hoped to improve it to his 
advantage; for he conceived, that if he could but increase the 
ardor of their passions, they might be induced to purchase the 
life of Eleazar by a surrender of the place; The scheme suc- 
ceeded to the height of his expectation: a cross was erected, on 
which it seemed to appear that Eleazar was to be immediately 
crucified; but no sooner was this cross fixed, than the whole 
garrison exclaimed, as with one voice, that they could no longer 
bear their sufferings. Immediately hereupon, Eleazar entreated 
them to consider their own situation, and that of himself, who 
was sentenced to an ignominious death; and conjued them to 
desist from contending against the superior courage and success 
of the Romans, to whose dominion all the world had submitted. 

Eleazar being of a distinguished family, and having many 
friends and relations in the castle, their interest was exerted in 
support of his earnest supplication; so that, in the end, the be- 
sieged, compassionating his case in a high degree, dispatched 
deputies to the Romans, who were commissioned to offer the sur- 
render of the castle, on the condition that Eleazar's life and lib- 
erty should be granted him, and that the garrison should be per- 
mitted to dispose of themselves as they thought proper. 

Bassus readily consented to these terms: but the people in the 
lower town, enraged to think that they had not been consulted be- 
fore the agreement was made, determined to secure themselves by 
privately retreating in the night. Those who were in the castle 
gave notice of this to Bassus as soon as the gates were opened, part- 
ly lest themselves should be suspected to have been concerned in the 
plot, and partly through envy of their associates. Hereupon Bassus 
attacked them; but the most gallant of those who first got out made 
their escape, while the rest, in number no fewer than seventeen hun- 
dred, were slain,and their wives and children made slaves. Notwith- 
standing the above mentioned circumstance, Bassus gave Eleazar 
his liberty, and dismissed the garrison, agreeably to contract. 



622 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



The transactions above mentioned being at an end, and Bassus 
having received information that great numbers of the J ews who 
had effected their escape during the siege of Jerusalem and Mach- 
aeras, had assembled together and retired to the forest of Jardus, 
he marched with his army immediately to that place; and on his 
arrival, found that the intelligence which had been brought him 
was true; wherefore, he issued orders that his cavalry should in- 
stantly surround the whole wood, which were so punctually obey- 
ed, that not a single Jew could make his escape. In the mean 
time, the infantry were employed to cut down the trees and bushes 
which formed those thickets, under which the Jews had taken 
shelter; so that by this means they were deprived of all possibil- 
ity of concealment, and had no hopes of safety but in cutting 
their way through the forces of the enemy. 

Being reduced to the alternative of perishing or taking this 
desperate step, they united in a body, and made a violent attack 
on those who surrounded them, who received the assault with 
the utmost bravery. In a word, the rashness excited by despair 
on the one side, and determined courage on the other, combined 
to render the engagement equally obstinate and violent. In the 
end, however, the Romans obtained the advantage, with the loss 
of only twelve men slain, and a small number wounded; where- 
as, every man of the Jews was killed in the action, amounting 
in the whole to the number of three thousand. Among these, 
was the commander in chief, named Judas, the son of Jair, of 
whom mention has been made in a former part of this work. 
This Judas was an officer during the siege of Jerusalem, from 
whence he effected his escape through a subterraneous passage. 

At this juncture, the emperor sent a letter to his officer, Tibe 
rius Maximus, commissioning him to expose the lands of the Jews 
to sale; and declaring that he would not rebuild any of their 
cities, but seize them all to his own use. Tiberius was directed 
to leave eight hundred soldiers in Emmaus, which is situated 
about sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. The emperor likewise 
issued orders that the Jews should pay a poll-tax of two drachmas 
annually; and this money was to be paid into the capital, as 
similar taxes had been formerly paid at the temple. 

The death of Bassus, which happened in Judea, made room 
for the advancement of Flavius Silva, who succeeded to his 
government. Silva being informed that all the country was in 
due subjection, one castle only excepted, he collected all the 
forces he was able, with a determination to make an attack 
on it. The name of this castle was Massada, and it was under 
the command of Eleazar, the leader of the Sicarii, who had ob- 
tained possession of this fortress. 

The Roman general, Silva, now marched to lay siege to 
Massada, in which was a garrison of the Sicarii, commanded 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



t>23 



by Eleazar, who was the chief of the people bearing that name. 
Silva now possessed himself of the adjacent country, and with 
very little difficulty : he then disposed of his troops in the most 
commodious manner possible, and ran up a wall round the cas- 
tle, at once to secure his soldiers, and to prevent the escape 
of the enemy. He now looked out for a place the most con- 
venient for the station of his camp, which he found to be on 
the spot where the adjacent mountain communicated with the 
rock on which the castle stood. One great inconvenience now 
attended Silva; for the provisions with which his army was 
supplied by the Jews, were brought from a very great distance; 
and as there was no fountain near the place, the procuring of 
water was likewise attended with very great difficulty. 

As soon as the above mentioned disposition of affairs had 
taken place, Silva prepared to commence the siege, which, as 
will appear from the situation of the castle, was likely to cost 
much time, and to be attended with great difficulty. This cas- 
tle was situated on a large and high rock, which was surrounded 
by deep and craggy precipices. They who stood at the top 
could not see the bottom, on account of the higher rocks hang- 
ing over those that are beneath. Even the beasts could not 
climb this rock, so difficult was the access, except by two pas- 
sages; one of which is from the east side from the lake As- 
phaltites, and the other from the west side, the former being 
much more dangerous than the latter. One of these passages 
bears the name of the Snake, from the number of turnings that 
there were in the ascent; for in many parts of it, the stones so 
intersected each other, that passengers were obliged to go back- 
wards and forwards to pass them; and the road was so nar- 
row that the traveler could not keep both his feet on the ground 
at the same time. Exclusive of all things, one false step would 
have*plunged a man to the bottom of a most horrid precipice. 
This road was deemed thirty furlongs from the bottom to the top 
of the mountain; and on this eminence there was a plain on 
which the high priest Jonathan caused a castle to be built, to 
which he gave the name of Massada, and claimed the honor of 
being the founder of this castle, which was afterwards fortified 
and adorned, with immense labor, and at a large expense, by 
Herod the Great; a wall being also built round it by Herod, 
eight cubits in breadth and twelve in height, with white stones 
of considerable value. Herod likewise caused seven and twenty 
turrets, each of fifty cubits height, to be erected: and made a 
communication between these turrets and the buildings on the 
interior side of the wall. The nature of the soil of the plain 
being found to be extremely rich, Herod gave order that it 
should be well cultivated, with a view that those who might in 

1 



624 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



future times have occasion to take refuge in the castle, might 
be certain of being supplied with the necessaries of life. 

Within the limits of the castle, he caused a sumptuous and 
magnificent palace to be erected for his own accommodation. — 
The entrance of this palace was situated so as to front the north- 
west; the walls of it were of great strength, and remarkably 
high; and at each of the four corners was a tower of the height 
of sixty cubits. The variety, decorations, ornaments, richness 
and splendor, of the several apartments, baths, and galleries, 
exceeded all description. The whole was supported with pillars, 
each of one entire stone, and so disposed as to give proof of the 
strength of the structure and the judgment of the architect. — 
The pavement and the walls were diversified with stones of a va- 
riety of colors. A g^eat number of large cisterns, hewed out of 
the rock, for the preservation of water, were dispersed in the dif- 
ferent quarters of the palace to the castle, which was quite invisi- 
ble from the outside; and, as hath been heretofore observed, the 
other passage was rendered altogether impassable; and, with re- 
gard to the western passage, it was totally blocked up by a tower 
that was erected in the narrowest part of it, at about the distance 
of a thousand cubits from the castle. This will serve to show 
how strongly the place was fortified by art as well as by nature, 
and how difficult the conquest of it must have been, even with the 
slightest opposition. 

Thus fortified, this castle had the appearance of being proof, 
not only against force, but was unlikely to be subdued by fam- 
ine; for, when it was surprised by Eleazar and the Sicarii, there 
were found in it great treasures of corn, wine, oil, pulse, dates, 
&c, equal to the consumption of many years; and these arti- 
cles were said by Josephusto be as fresh as if they had been but new- 
ly deposited, though they had been treasured up an hundred years. 

Perhaps this circumstance might be owing to the extreme puri- 
ty and salubrious quality of air in so elevated a situation. Agree- 
ably to the king's order, there was likewise laid up a magazine 
of various kinds of arms, for the accommodation often thousand 
men, and also an immense quantity of unwrought iron, brass, 
lead, and other articles, which it is presumed were intended for 
some capital enterprise. 

The Jews being now so closely pent up within the walls of 
Massada, that it was utterly impossible that they should effect an 
escape, Silva advanced with his machines to the only place which 
he could find up, in order to raise a mount. Beyond the tower 
which blocked up the western passage to the palace and castle, 
there was a large rock, which bore the name of Leuce; this rock 
was larger than that on which the castle of Massada stood, but 
not so high by about three hundred cubits. Silva had no sooner 
taken possession of this rock, than he issued orders to his soldiers 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



625 



to raise a mount upon it; and they were so diligent in this busi- 
ness, that they soon got it up to the height of two hundred cubits; 
but finding that it was not of sufficient strength to support the 
machines, they raised on it a kind of platform composed of large 
stones, fifty cubits in height, and of the same breadth. On this 
platform they built a tower of the height of sixty cubits, which 
they fortified with iron. Exclusive of their common machines, 
they had another kind which had been invented by Vespasian, 
and were afterwards improved .by Titus. 

From the tower above mentioned, the Romans assailed the 
besieged with such impetuous showers of stones and flights of 
arrows, that they were afraid to appear on the walls. In the 
interim, Silva directed his battering-rams against the wall, till at 
length it was damaged in some places, In consequence hereof, 
the Sicarii instantly ran up another wall behind it, which was 
composed of such materials as to deaden the shock, and sustain 
no kind of damage. This wall was built in the following man- 
ner: A row of large pieces of timber was mortised into another 
of equal size, and a space was left between them equal to the 
thickness of the wall. This space was filled with the earth of the 
nature of clay, and boards were nailed across the frame to pre- 
vent the earth from falling. Thus prepared, it was as strong as 
the wall of a house; and the more violently it was battered, the 
stronger it became, the earth being more firmly closed by each 
stroke it received. 

Silva finding that the battering with his machines did no pro- 
duce the consequence he expected, ordered his soldiers to pro- 
vide themselves with fire-brands to destroy the works of the ene- 
my. The wall being hollow, and chiefly composed of timber- 
work, immediately took fire, and the flames raged with the utmost 
violence; but the wind being in the north, it drove the fire with 
such rapidity on the Romans, that they expected the almost in- 
stant destruction of their machines: but, just at this juncture, 
the wind veered to the south, and beat so violently on the wall 9 
that the whole of it was in flames in a moment. The Romans, 
grateful for this providential stroke in their favor, returned to 
their camp full of spirits, and with a fixed determination to attack 
the enemy by break of day on the following morning; and, in 
the mean time, to place strong guards, that their opponents might 
not escape in the night. 

However, Eleazar had no idea of departing himself, or of 
permitting any of his people to evacuate the place; but as the 
wall was now totally consumed, and their appeared to be no 
longer any chance either of relief or security, it became neces- 
sary to consider how their wives and children might be most 
effectually preserved from the violence to be expected from the 
Romans on their taking possession of the place. Having seri- 



626 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



ously reflected on this affair, Eleazar determined in his own 
mind that a death of glory would be greatly preferable to a life 
of infamy; and that the most magnanimous resolution they could 
form, would be to disdain the idea of surviving their liberties. 
His own sentiments being thus formed, he resolved to endeavor 
to inspire others with the same; and, for that purpose, he sum- 
moned a number of his friends and associates, whom he address- 
ed in a speech, strongly recommending suicide. 

This was received in a very different manner by his different 
auditors, some of whom were charmed with his proposal, and 
ready to execute it, deeming death an object of desire in their 
present situation: while others, from the tenderness of their na- 
ture, were equally terrified at the thought of destroying their 
friends, or becoming their own executioners. They regarded 
each other with looks of the utmost anxiety, while their flowing 
tears testified the sentiments of their minds. Eleazar was greatly 
chagrined at what he deemed a weakness, that degraded the 
dignity of his plan, and might tempt those who had appeared 
to be determined to abandon their resolutions. He therefore 
pursued his plan of exhorting the people, but in a different man- 
ner; for he now discoursed on the immortality of the soul, ad- 
dressing himself particularly, and with the utmost earnestness, to 
those who were weeping. 

Eleazar would have proceeded long on this subject, but that 
the people interrupted him with the warmest expressions of their 
readiness to adopt the plan he had recommended, each being am- 
bitious to excel the other, in giving this distinguishing proof of 
his wisdom and courage; thus passionately were these people de- 
voted to the destruction of themselves and their families. It was 
very extraordinary, that when they came to give proof of their 
resolution, not a man of them failed in the arduous trial. They 
retained their kindest affections for each other to the last moment, 
conceiving that they could not render a more acceptable office, 
or give a more perfect proof of their regard. While they embraced 
their wives and children for the last time, they wept over and 
stabbed them in the same moment — rejoicing, however that this 
work was not left to be performed by their enemies. They con- 
sidered the necessity of the action their excuse, and reflected that 
they only destroyed their dearest friends to prevent their falling 
by the hands of the Romans. In a word, there was not one man 
who wanted the necessary courage on the occasion, and they 
killed their friends and relations without distinction: and they 
thought the destruction of their wives and children far preferable 
to the evils to which they would otherwise be exposed. 

They who had been the principal agents in the slaughter above 
mentioned, penetrated as they were with grief for the necessity 
that had occasioned it, resolved not to survive those they had 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



627 



slain; and immediately collecting all their effects together, set 
, them on fire. This being done, they cast lots for the selection 
of ten men out of their number to destroy the rest; and these 
being chosen, the devoted victims embraced the bodies of their 
deceased friends, and then ranging themselves near them, cheer- 
fully resigned themselves to the hands of the executioners. When 
these ten men had discharged the disagreeable task they had un- 
dertaken, they again cast lots which of the ten should kill the 
other nine, having previously agreed that the man to whose lot 
it might fall, should sacrifice himself on the bodies of his com- 
panions; so great was the trust that these people reposed in each 
other. The nine devoted victims died with the same resolution 
as their brethren had done; and the surviving man, having sur- 
veyed the bodies, and found that they were all absolutely dead, 
threw himself on his sword among his companions, but not till 
he had first set fire to the palace. 

This melancholy scene, which happened on the fifteenth day 
of the month Xanthicus, was now concluded; and the deceased 
had imagined that not a single Jew would fall into the hands of 
the Romans: but it afterwards appeared that an old woman, and 
another woman who was related to Eleazar, together with five 
children, had escaped the general massacre by concealing them- 
selves in a common sewer. Including women and children no less 
than nine hundred and fifty persons were slain on this occasion. 

On the dawn of the following morning, the Romans prepared 
their scaling ladders in order to make an attack; but they were 
astonished in the highest degree on not hearing any noise but 
the crackling of the flames, and were totally at a loss what con- 
jecture to form. On this they gave a loud shout, (such as is 
customary when a battery is played off) in expectation of receiv- 
ing an answer. This noise alarmed the women in their place of 
retreat, who, immediately coming out, related the truth to the 
Romans as it really had happend. The story however, appear- 
ed so extraordinary, that they could not give credit to it: but 
they exerted themselves in extinguishing the fire; and being em- 
ployed in this service till they came to the palace, there they found 
the bodies of the deceased lying in heaps. Far, however, from 
exulting in the triumph of joy that might have been expected 
from enemies, they united to admire what they deemed the steady 
virtue and dignity of mind with which the Jews had been inspir- 
ed, and wondered at that generous contempt of death by which 
such numbers had been bound in one solemn compact. 

The temple and holy city thus destroyed and levelled with the 
ground, and the whole nation either miserably buried under its 
ruins, or dispersed into other countries, might, one would think, 
have opened the eyes of the poor remains of that once favored 
people, and crushed at once all hopes and expectations of any 



628 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

other deliverer but him whom they had rejected and crucified. 
Many of them were indeed moved: hut the far greater part re- 
mained in their infatuated state, and, according to Christ's own 
prediction, have been dispersed ever since over all the world, to 
attest his truth and their own obdurate blindness till the happy 
time comes when the veil shall be taken off their eyes. When 
that will be, is one of those secrets which God hath been pleased 
to leave as yet unrevealed, and which it would be vain and pre- 
sumptuous to search too curiously after. 

After the reduction of Jerusalem and Judea, Agrippa and his 
sister retired to Rome, probably with Titus, who was excessively 
fond of both, but especially of Berenice. We have seen, through 
the course of this last war, how serviceable the brother had been 
to that general, accompanying him in person, and assisting him 
with men and ammunition, for which we were told Titus got his 
kingdom enlarged by the emperor, and procured him praetorian 
honors. But his extraordinary friendship for that prince flowed 
chiefly from his special fonduess for his sister, as if she had been 
his real wife. Titus, nevertheless, had promised her marriage, 
and would in all probability have kept his word, had he not found 
that the Ron? ms were wholly averse from it, partly on account 
of her being a Jewess, and partly on that of her royal descent. 
To pave himself, therefore, the way to the empire, he was forced 
to discard her, in opposition to both their inclinations. What 
became of her afterwards, is not worth inquiring. As for Agrippa, 
he was the last of the Herodian race that bore the royal title, and 
is supposed to have died at Rome about the seventieth year of 
his age, and in the ninetieth of Jesus Christ. Joscphus has this 
remarkable saying on the Herodian line, that they all failed with- 
in a hundred years, though they were at first so numerous, as we 
have seen them in the genealogy of Herod the Great. 

We have already had occasion to mention the number of the 
slain, as well as of the prisoners, according to Josephus. A 
curious author has since taken the pains to make a fresh compu- 
tation out of him of all that perished in the several places through- 
out that kingdom, and out of it, from the beginning to the con- 
elusion of the war, in which we believe our readers will be glad 
to see the whole amount of the several bloody articles, as it were 
at one view. They are as follows: 

At Jerusalem, by Florus' orders - 630 
By the inhabitants of Cassarea in hatred to the Jews 20,000 

At Scythopolis in Syria 30,000 

By the inhabitants of Ascalon in Palestine - - 2.500 
By those of Ptolemais - - - - - 2,000 
At Alexandria in Egypt under Alexander the apostate 

Jew 50.000 

At Damascus - - - - - - 10,000 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 629 

At the taking of Joppa - - - - - 8,400 

In the mountain of Cabulo - 2,000 

In a fight at Ascalon 10,000 

In an ambush - - - - - - - 8,000 

At the taking of Aphec 15,000 

Upon mount Gerizim - 11,600 

Drowned at Joppa by a sudden storm - - 4,200 

Slain at Taricheas 6,500 

Slain or killed themselves at Gamala, where none were 

saved but two sisters - ■ - - - - 9,000 

Killed in their flight from Giscala - - - 2,000 

At the siege of Jotapata, where Josephus commanded 30,000 
Of the Gadarens, besides a vast number that drowned 

themselves - - - - - - - 13.000 

In the village of Idumea 10X)00 

At Gerasium 1,000 

At Mascheron ...... 1,700 

In the desert of Jardes - 3,000 

Slew themselves at Massada - - - - 960 

In Cjrene, by the governor Catulus ... 3,000 
Perished at Jerusalem, by sword, famine, pestilence, 

and during the siege - 1,100,000 



According to this the whole amounts to 1,337,490; besides a 
vast multitude that died in the caves, woods, wildernesses, com- 
mon sewers, in banishment, and many other ways of whom no 
computation could be made ; and ten thousand that were slain at 
Jotapata more than our author has reckoned. For Josephus 
mentions expressly forty thousand, but he only thirty thousand. 



A 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 

FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM TO 
THE PRESENT TIME. 

EXHIBITING- A VIEW OF THE VARIOUS PROPHESIES RELATING TO THIS REMARKA- 
BLE PEOPLE, AND THE STRIKING FULFILLMENT OF THEM, PARTICULARLY 
OF THOSE RELATING TO THEIR PRESENT CONDITION. 

BY REV. JAMES GALLAHER, 

PASTOR OF THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CINCINNATI, 



CONTINUATION OF 



THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The guilt of the Jews in rejecting the Messiah. — Remarkable fulfill' 
ment of predictions by Moses and Jesus Christ. — Origin and 
growth of Rabbinism. — Testimony of Origen. 

When the Jews had rejected the Messiah, the cup of their 
iniquity was full. Long had the spirit of prophecy pointed their 
eyes to the period of his coming, the leading events of his life 
and death, and the glory that should follow. To our first pa- 
rents it "had been promised that the Messiah should be of the 
seed of the woman; to Abraham, that he should spring from 
his family; to Jacob, that he should be of the tribe of Judah; to 
David, that he should be of his house; to Isaiah, that he should 
be born of a Virgin; to Micah, that he should be born in Beth- 
lehem; and to Daniel, that he should come at the end of a speci- 
fied number of years, "from the going forth of the command- 
ment to restore and to build Jerusalem," after the captivity in 
Babylon. At length the time mentioned by Daniel is fulfilled: 
'and, behold! an angel of the Lord comes down and announces 
to the shepherd's of Bethlehem, that the promised Saviour is 
come. He is, according to the flesh, of the seed of the woman; 
of the family of Abraham; of the tribe of Judah; of the house 
of David! The time, the place, every circumstance is in exact 
accordance with what the Spirit of inspiration had foretold. 
And not only so, but his condition among men is that humble 
and lowly condition of which the prophets had spoken. His 
works also afford credentials of his divine mission, which none 
could counterfeit. How wonderfully are Isaiah's words verified 
in him ! " Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: then shall the lame man 
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing," In short, 
such is the amazing coincidence between the events predicted, 
and the facts relating to the Saviour's birth, manner of life, 
and painful death, that a very minute and interesting history of 

633 



634 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



them might be compiled from the Old Testament Scriptures. 
Yet, when "He came unto his own, his own received him not." 
But to the long, dark, catalogue of former crimes, they added 
this, the darkest of all, that with wicked hands they crucified the 
Lord of glory. Then the Lord brought upon them his fierce 
judgments. Their Temple was overthrown; their city destroyed; 
and their land overspread with fearful desolation. The reader 
is now invited to compare the declarations of Moses and Christ 
concerning these remarkable people, with the leading facts in 
their history. Our limits require that the view we take of this 
subject shall be but a hurried glance. Yet enough will appear, 
we hope, to satisfy the candid enquirer, that the God of Provi- 
dence, and the God of the Bible, are the same. The Evange- 
list Luke tells us, that after Christ had wept over Jerusalem, and 
pronounced that the things which belong to her peace, were 
now hid from her eyes, he spoke of her desolation as follows: 
" They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away 
captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled." He 
said, moreover, "For these be the days of vengeance, that all 
things which are written may be fulfilled." 

By this, we understand the threatenings written in the books 
of Moses and the prophets; which were denounced against 
Israel, in case they should be disobedient. The reader is re- 
quested to turn to the following Scriptures in the Old Testament, 
in which the Lord warns Israel of the evil that shall come upon 
them, if they reject his ordinances. Lcviticvs, xxvi. 14 — 33. 
Deuteronomy^ xxviii. 15 — 68, and xxix. 19 — 38, and xxxii. 34 — 
43. In these passages it is declared that after a train of terrible 
judgments, in which the displeasure of God against them for 
their sins, should burn with awful fury, he would scatter them 
among all the nations of the earth. "And among these nations 
shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot find rest; 
but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing 
of eyes, and sorrow of mind; and thy life shall hang in doubt 
before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have 
none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, 
would God it were even, and at even thou shalt say, would God 
it were morning; for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou 
shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes wherewith thou shalt 
see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, 
and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and 
bondwomen, and no man shall buy you." 

History has been careful to record, that after the destruction 
of Jerusalem, in which so many perished by the sword, by 
famine, and by pestilence, (the number not being less than 
1,100,000,) " about 97,000 were taken prisoners, many of whom 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



635 



Were sent into Egypt to labor as slaves; part were sent to Syria, 
to be exposed for shows, or devoured by wild animals at their 
public entertainments, or sold for slaves." " And no man shall 
buy you." 44 This was a prediction of great degredation: evert 
when sold as slaves, they should not stand upon a level with 
other slaves; but the Jew should have so ill a name for all that 
is base, that when he was exposed to sale, no man should buy 
him; this would make his master that had him to sell the more 
severe with him." Now as a fulfillment of this remarkable 
threatening, we are told by writers of good authority, that 
"Thirty Jews have been sold for one small piece of money." 
In Deuteronomy xxviii. 49-50, it is declared, 44 The Lord shall 
bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earthy 
as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not 
understand; a nation of fierce countenance, who shall not re- 
gard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young." 

Bishop Patrick observes, that 44 to render the accomplishment 
of this passage the more remarkable, it was so ordered in the 
Providence of God, that the ensign of the Roman armies was 
an eagle with its wings stretched for flight" Our Saviour, when 
foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, alludes to the same 
thing, when he says, 44 Where the carcase is, there will the 
eagles be gathered together." In sacking that devoted city, 
"they did not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to 
the young." With what wonderful perspicuity and force, are 
the horrible extremities to which they were reduced during the 
siege, set forth in verses 52-57, of the same chapter. In verses 
36 and 64 they are told that in their dispersion they should serve 
other Gods, which neither they, nor their fathers 5 fathers had 
known. This began to be fulfilled during the captivity in Baby- 
lon, when they were required to fall down and worship the 
golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up, on pain of 
being cast into the burning fiery furnace. And it was strangely 
verified, to the utter chagrin and mortification of the Jews, 
when after the destruction of Jerusalem, every Israelite in the 
Roman empire was required to pay yearly a half shekle of soul 
ransom money, for the maintainance of the worship of Jupiter, 
in the idolatrous capitol at Rome. In verse 37 the Jews are 
told, 44 Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a bye- 
word, among all nations, whither the Lord shall lead thee." 

This singular prophecy was uttered by Moses, thirty-three 
hundred years ago, and yet, we who live in an age so distant, 
and on the other side of the globe from where it was spoken, 
I are all witnesses of its wonderful accomplishment. We all 
know that in his dispersion among the nations, the Jew is a 
proverb and a bye-word. Who has not heard the proverb, 44 as 
rich as a Jew, as stingy as a Jew, as hard-hearted as a Jew?' 5 

74 



636 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



In verse 46, the Jews are assured that the judgments of God 
for his violated law should pursue them when scattered among 
the nations, and should be " upon them for a sign, and for a 
wonder, and upon their^seed." That which is intended as a 
clear and forcible proof of what God would teach the children 
of men, is often called a sign in the sacred writings. Thus, when 
Moses was sent to Israel, Exodus iv. 1 — 8, he is directed to per- 
form before them two striking miracles, as a proof that the God 
of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had appeared unto 
him. And he w 7 as told, " If they will not believe thee, neither 
hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice 
of the latter sign." 

When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, miraculously perished for 
their rebellion, it is said, " They became a sign." J\ umbers xxvi. 
10. The censers of the two hundred and fifty men, who were 
slain when offering incense contrary to the law, were preserved 
by the divine appointment; and the Lord said, "They shall be 
a sign unto the children of Israel." "Show us a sigyi from 
heaven," said the Jews to the Saviour, when they pretended they 
wanted evidence of his divine mission. And long after, the re- 
surrection of Jesus from the dead, when the Gospel had obtained 
a wide and victorious spread among the Gentile nations, we hear 
the apostle affirming, "The Jews require a sign." Such is the 
general use of this term in the Old and New- Testaments. Now, 
we might submit the question to infidelity itself, are not the 
Jews at this hour a sign and a wonder among all people? Does 
not their present condition, compared with the predictions of 
ancient prophecy, furnish surprising proof of the authenticity of 
the word of God? Is not the infidel in every age put to his 
wits-end to evade the point of this resistless argument? And is 
not the man who says, "Except I see signs and wonders, I will 
not believe," left without excuse, when God has put the Bible 
in his hand, and placed the Jew before his eyes? 

It is worthy of remark, that God intends to send the Bible 
into all the earth where the Jews are scattered. He is now 
waking up the church to the mighty enterprise: and wherever 
the Bible goes, and is translated into the language of any people, 
there stands the Jew before them, " a sign and a wonder" fur- 
nished by heaven in attestation of its divine origin. It would 
be easy to extend, to great length, this catalogue of distinct pas- 
sages in God's word, which have received a remarkable fulfill- 
ment in the history of the Jews, but it is judged better to fur- 
nish a sketch of their general history, from the destruction of 
Jerusalem to the present day: every reader will be able to mark 
its striking agreement with the predictions of the word of eternal 
truth. 

When Titus accomplished the destruction of Jerusalem, the 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 637 

political existence of the Jewish nation was annihilated. We 
now see the Temple smouldering in ruins, and the high-priest- 
hood huried under its rubbish. Those who did not perish during 
the war, were made captives, and were dispersed to the four 
winds of Heaven. And now to give a narrative of the Jews, 
we must follow them, despised and forsaken as they are, into 
almost every part of the world; and collect from the histories 
of the nations, the broken and scattered details of their eventful 
story. 

Wherever we find a Hebrew, we see the sign before us. 
The unchanging features of the face, the mental character, the 
customs, the laws, and the religion — all are the same that they 
were in the days of David or Moses: allowing for the change 
in circumstances. While Judea was their home, they were 
devoted to agricultural pursuits and pastoral employment. 
Even yet some parts of the world manifest their skill in hus- 
bandry. For the most part, however, they have been shut out 
from employments of this nature; and are under the necessity 
of leading a wandering life. They have no home, no country, 
no common interest, with the rest of mankind. They have, 
therefore, addicted themselves to traffic: and in many countries 
they confine their speculations to articles that can be easily 
packed up, and speedily moved away, in case of emergency. 
For the Jews have been perpetually plundered and robbed; and 
by many, to the present time, are considered a lawful prey. 
Although they have been so much oppressed, and so often des- 
poiled of their wealth, yet they are generally rich. Although 
so often persecuted, and so many of their nation massacred, yet 
they are at the present time as numerous, as they were of oid. 
" Their perpetuity, their national immortality, is at once the 
most curious problem to the political inquirer; to the religious 
man, a subject of profound and awful admiration." 

Notwithstanding the dreadful destruction which took place in 
Jerusalem, at the time of its final conquest, yet in the space of 
sixty years they became quite numerous again; and the Ro- 
mans under Adrian had much trouble to subdue them the second 
time. These facts are stated to show that they were settled 
over almost all of the then known world. And however much 
they were persecuted in one place, or rather in all places at 
different times, they thus were much more likely to escape 
extirpation, than they would have been, had every Jew in the 
world been found in the same land. Thus, before their persecu- 
tions commenced, we find that God, in his providence, had it so 
arranged, that the seed of Abraham should be settled in a great 
variety of places. 

This answered a double purpose, to which we have already 
alluded: the exhibition of the sign to all people, and the pre- 



638 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



servation from total ruin of the stock of Israel. But, though 
they were thus scattered abroad, there was a bond of union 
among them. The Rabbinical influence was acknowledged 
every where. The Jews put so much confidence in this order 
of men, that it was a maxim with them, " The voice of the 
Rabbi, the voice of God." Many of these had considerable 
learning. But the things that are said about them, are gener- 
ally so clothed with fables and absurdities, that it is difficult to 
gather the truth from so much rubbish. They are represented 
as saying and doing many strange things, which the inquisitive 
reader need not expect to find related in so brief a sketch as 
this. 

During the five years which Adrian spent in avenging the 
Romans, many of whom had been murdered in their repeated 
insurrections and rebellions, we are informed that 580,000 Jews 
were butchered. Now indeed they were nearly exterminated. 
They seemed to have got to the very extreme of degradation, 
suffering, and wretchedness. A temple to Jupiter was now built 
on the former cite of the holy city. This was done by Adrian 
in A. D. 130. Strange as it may seem, the Jews, in about sixty 
years afterward, presented to the world two regularly organized 
communities. The first comprehended all the Israelites in the 
Roman empire; and it was under the spiritual government of 
the Patriarch of Tiberias. Gibbon gives an account of the 
growth of this principality. The second included all the Jews 
on the other side of the Euphrates; known as Babylonish Jews, 
and united under the Prince of the captivity. 

Origen, in speaking of the Jews in the Roman empire, says, 
"Even now, when the Jews are under the dominion of Rome, 
and pay the didrachm," (that is the soul ransom money, before 
spoken of, which every Jew had to pay for the support of the 
temple of Jupiter in Rome,) "how great, by the permission of 
Caesar, is the power of their Ethnarch! I myself have been 
witness that it is little less than that of a King. For they se- 
cretly pass judgments according to their law; and some are 
capitally condemned, not with open and acknowledged author- 
ity, but with the connivance of the emperor. This I have 
learned, and am fully acquainted with, by long residence in their 
country." 



HISTORY OF THE- JEWS. 



639 



CHAPTER II. 

Patriarch of Tiberias* — His power and dominions, — System of 
Jewish Education. — Contests with the Babylonian Jews. 

The last chapter brought us down to the establishment of the 
Jews in the Roman empire under the patriarch of Tiberias. 
Simon, the Son of Gamaliel, was acknowledged patriarch. He 
was probably the only one of Gamaliel's family that escaped 
when Bither was destroyed. Rabbi Nathan was his Abbethdin; 
and the celebrated Rabbi Meir, his Hachim, or the head of the 
Law. The Sanhedrim was re-established. The city of Tibe- 
rias was the residence of the Jewish pontiff. It was built by 
Herod Antipas on the shore of the sea of Galilee. For a con- 
siderable time this city was famous for being the capital of this 
singular spiritual government. Under the present state of things, 
the power of the Rabbins was greatly increased. Their schools 
were publicly opened, and learning flourished. But their rest- 
less and dissatisfied spirit manifested itself on various occasions; 
and caused great distress among them, from the persecutions 
which it induced. When Avidius Cassius was victorious over 
Vologesus, king of Parthia, the Mesopotamian Jews were sub- 
jected to the arms of the Romans. Ctesiphon fell, after a long 
siege: it contained many Jews. Seleucia also contained many 
of them. It capitulated, but the Jews violated the terms of the 
capitulation, and four or five thousand of these devoted people 
were put to the sword. When Cassius assumed the purple in 
Syria, the Jews attached themselves to his interests. This in- 
duced the emperor, Marcus Aurelius, otherwise peaceably in- 
clined, to repeal the favorable laws, which had been passed by 
Atoninus. One circumstance, which has always given great in- 
fluence to the Rabbins, is that the entire management of educa- 
tion was committed to their trust. The education of the Jews, 
authorized by themselves, from the most authentic information 
we have upon the subject, is as follows. "As soon as the chil- 
dren can speak, they are taught certain religious axioms; from 
three to seven they learn their letters; at seven they go to 
school, and are taught to read the Pentateuch; at ten they com- 
mence the Mischna; at thirteen and one day, they are consid- 
ered responsible, and are bound to keep the six hundred and 
thirteen precepts of the Law; at fifteen they study the Talmud; 
at eighteen they marry; at twenty they enter into business." 

The Rabbi had more or less to do with nearly every act of 
life. When the child was born, the Rabbi on the eighth day 
would grace the feast, and circumcise the child, or see it done« 



640 CONTINUATION OF THE 

He attended the sick, interred the dead, joined the hands of the 
contracting parties in matrimony, pronounced the seven prayers, 
and blessed the wedded couple. But, to rivet the chains which 
bound the consciences of the people, the Rabbi taught that it 
was not sufficient that the all-seeing eye of God should see all 
their doings. He told them of good and evil spirits that peopled 
the air. Good spirits would be grieved by any misdeed or by 
any uncleanness. Evil spirits were able to injure them, and 
ready to do so, whenever they departed from the things they 
were taught. 

The scriptures were distorted. Separate and detached pas- 
sages were used to confirm these fanciful notions. "His rising 
from his bed, his manner of putting on the different articles of 
dress, the disposition of his fringed tallith, his phylacteries on 
his head and arms, his ablutions, his meals, were subjected to 
scrupulous rules — both reminding him that he was of a peculiar 
race, and perpetually reducing him to ask the advice of the wise 
men, who alone could set at rest the scrupulous and trembling 
conscience." Well would it have been for the Christian church, 
if its members had taken the advice given to them, in the xxiii. 
of Matthew, on this subject. But be not ye called Rabbi: for 
one is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 

Let any impartial reader take up this chapter, and examine 
carefully its luminous descriptions of character; and also its ter- 
rible denunciations of wrath against the arrogancy of man. 
Let him read the history of the Jewish nation, and compare the 
one with the other: he will see plainly that "blindness in part 
has happened unto Israel." Let the same individual compare 
the history of the Christian church under the popes of Rome 
with the instructions of this chapter, and also with the history 
of the Jews under the patriarchs of Tiberias, and point out if 
he can that wherein they differed. It is owing to this singular 
coincidence of spiritual pride and usurpation, that the student 
of the Bible is frequently at a loss in the application of many 
passages in God's word. 

It is difficult in many cases to know with certainty whether 
Jews or Romanists, or both, are alluded to. The xv. of Mat- 
thew will throw a good deal of light upon the religious charac- 
ter of each of these sects. Tradition, and not the written word, 
is in each case the rule of faith and practice. In the way 
described matters stood for a long time. The Jews greatly in- 
creased in numbers: their wealth and importance was greatly 
augmented. Towards the close of the second century, however, 
a difficulty of an internal nature existed among them. The 
patriarch and his two principal assistants did not agree so well 
as they should have done. This was the cause of great disturb- 
ance. But the principal circumstance that disturbed the mind 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



641 



of the ambitious pontiff, was the equality of the Prince of the 
captivity in the East. We do not know at what precise time 
the dynasty of the Princes of' the captivity commenced. Ahia 
was cotemporary with Simon. Hananiah and Judah, Ben 
Bethuriah were the most learned teachers in the Babylonish 
school. 

The patriarch sent two messengers to visit their brethren in 
the east. These messengers were furnished with three letters. 
On their arrival at Nahorpakod, they presented the first letter 
to Hananiah. It was superscribed 44 To your holiness." The 
Rabbi was much pleased with this compliment; and received the 
messengers courteously. "When he inquired for the reason of 
their coming, he was told, "To learn your system of instruction." 
This pleased him so much that he commended them greatly to 
the people. These messengers soon had a large share in the 
confidence and affections of the people. And now they were 
prepared to act their part. They controverted Hananiah's 
judgments, animadverted on his opinions, and dealt largely in 
reprehension. Hananiah was much vexed; and he tried to turn 
the people against them, by saying they were ignorant. But 
this would not do. He represented them in a different light 
aforetime; and the people now saw the glaring inconsistency of 
the two statements. This they soon let him know. They said, 
"That which thou hast built, thou canst not so soon pull down; 
the hedge which thou hast planted, thou canst not pluck up 
without injury to thyself." 

This led to a discussion of matters; in which he was told that 
he had dared to fix intercalations and new moons, thereby pro- 
ducing great difficulties between the brethren in Babylon and 
Palestine. "So did Rabbi Akiba," said he. "Akiba left not his 
like in Palestine," was the answer he received. " Neither have 
I left my equal in Palestine," said the alarmed Rabbi. The 
two messengers now produced their second letter. It was 
couched in these ambiguous words, 44 That which thou leftest a 
kid, is grown up a strong horned goat." Its allusion was to 
the sanhedrim established in Tiberias. One of the messengers, 
Rabbi Isaac, said, 44 These are the holy days of God — these the 
holy days of Hananiah." The other messenger, Rabbi Nathan, 
then read the 3d verse of the ii. chapter of Isaiah: 44 Out of Zion 
shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem." Then, we are told, he added with contempt, 44 Out of 
Babylon goeth forth the law, the word of God from Nahor- 
pakod." 44 Alter not the word of God," was the cry of the 
people. The third letter was now produced. This threaten- 
ed excommunication. Isaac and Nathan now added: 44 The 
learned have sent us, and commanded us thus to say: if he will 
submit, well; if not, utter at once the interdict. So likewise 



642 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



set the choice before our brethren in foreign parts. If they 
will stand by us, well; if not, let them ascend their high places. 
Let Ahia build them an altar, and Hananiah sing at the sacri- 
fice ; and let them at once set themselves apart and say, we 
have no portion in the Israel of God." 

Thus the authority of the sanhedrim in Tiberias, was ac- 
knowledged by all the Jews in the Roman empire and beyond 
the Euphrates. And until the restoration of the Persian mon- 
archy, the patriarch maintained the supremacy. When Niger 
assumed the purple in Syria, the Jews applied to him to release 
them from taxation. "You demand exemption from tribute for 
your soil; I will lay it on the air you breathe," was the answer 
of the stern Roman. The Samaritans joined Niger; but the 
Jews joined the standard of Severus. The latter soon tri- 
umphed, and the Samaritans were severely punished. 

The Jews were now favored more than they had been. Still 
their condition was unpleasant. Tertullian, during the reign of 
Severus, thus describes them. "Dispersed and vagabond, exiled 
from their native soil and air, they wander over the face of the 
earth, without a king, either human or divine: and even as 
strangers they are not permitted with their footsteps to salute 
their native land." Rabbi Jehuda, the patriarch, was the author 
of the Mischna. The sources from which it was derived were, 
the written law, the oral law, or tradition, the maxims of the 
Rabbins, the opinions of celebrated persons, and ancient usages 
and customs. At first some of the Rabbins were opposed to 
their Mischna. But it was soon seen by them that it laid the 
surest foundation of their perpetuity. A new field was now 
opened for comment and ingenuity. But, if the written law 
was thus set aside, it was nevertheless regarded with great rev- 
erence. Every letter, syllable, word, and verse, was counted, 
and every dot preserved with the most scrupulous exactness, and 
with the greatest veneration. 

Thus we see the providence of God still watching over his 
holy word. The Mischna for a long time was the only code of 
law for the Jew. At length the Gemava, a commentary on the 
Mishna, and more voluminous still, was added; and these to- 
gether form the Talmud. It professed to contain not only all 
in the Mischna, but a great deal more. 

In A. D. 226, Parthia was subjected to Persia. This was 
only three years after the re-establishment of the kingdom by 
Artaxerxes. The Jews were numerous in Parthia, Media, and 
Persia. The Persians in history are frequently called Elamites, 
as in Acts ii. 9. Indeed that part of the world has generally 
been held in high estimation by the Jews. Again in the same 
year, Alexander Severus overthrew the Persians at Tadmor. 
The Jews were sufferers on all these occasions. Those of them 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



643 



who resided there were mostly the descendants of the captives 
who did not return to Jerusalem. And these eastern or Babylo- 
nish Jews were always unfavorable to the Romans. And now 
probably more so than ever. Their jealousy, on account of the 
increased power of the patriarch of Tiberias, was very great. 
Severus was soon afterwards killed in a mutiny in his own 
army. 

About A. D. 242, the Persian king Sapor persecuted the Jews 
very cruelly. About this time Manes made his appearance, and 
endeavored to blend Christianity with the notions of the Ma- 
gians. The Magians were an ancient sect that had long lain 
dormant; but now they were increasing with great rapidity. 
They were very obnoxious to the Jews; as the Jews were also 
to them. They taught the existence of two gods; one good$ 
and one evil. They used fire in their worship. There were 
certain days in which no light was permitted to burn except in 
their fire temples. The Jews as well as others had to submit to 
this regulation. This was the sect which owes its origin to Zoro- 
aster, who wrote the Zendavesta, or bible of the Persians. 
These people were extremely troublesome to the Jews who 
lived in Persia and other eastern countries. This was an age of 
ignorance. The Jews and Magians both made pretensions to 
mathematical and philosophical learning. But the whole 
amounted to little more than the knowledge of some arts that 
made them pass for Magicians with the ignorant multitude. 

The rapid advances of Christianity in the Roman empire and 
elsewhere, much astonished the Jews. It had demolished all 
the heathen temples in the proud capital. It was openly coun- 
tenanced by the emperor Constantine in A. D. 319. This was 
a sore grievance to the Hebrews. At the same time the patri- 
arch became exorbitant in his exactions; and the people secretly 
repined under his oppression. Their hopes were excited for a 
while by that extraordinary woman, Zenobia, who was of Israel- 
itish descent. She was the wife of Odenatus, an Arab warrior. 
At his death she obtained the titles, Augusta and Queen of the 
East. She reigned at Palmyra, and conquered Egypt, and part 
of Armenia and Asia Minor. Longinus, some of whose wri- 
tings are still extant, flourished at her court. The Jews at first 
entertained hopes of assistance from her. But she took into 
her favor the noted Paul of Samosata, who endeavored to effect 
a union between Judaism and Christianity. This greatly insul- 
ted the Jews, who speak with great contempt of Paul and the 
wise men who came from Tadmor. Zenobia, however, was de- 
feated by Aurelian, who destroyed Palmyra her capital, and 
then carried her captive to Rome. This happened in A. D* 
273. Alas! poor blinded children of Abraham! Why can you 
not perceive that the ban of the Almighty is upon you? 



644 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



CHAPTER III. 

Cunsianiine. — Julian the Apostate. — Attempts to rebuild Jerusalem 
frustrated* — The Roman Pontiffs. — Rabbins become powerful. — 
The two Talmuds. — Mahomet* 

It is said that Constantine forced many Jews to eat swine's 
flesh, murdering such as refused. During the reign of Constans, 
his son, the Jews were guilty of insurrection in Palestine; and 
they grossly insulted the Christians in Egypt. This conduct 
was severely chastised. All the ancient laws of the empire were 
revived against them. Such as had Christian wives or servants 
were put to death. In short they were reduced to great suffer- 
ing and misery. About A. D. 361, they were again encouraged 
by Julian the apostate. He authorized them to rebuild the 
temple at Jerusalem. He furnished them with aid, to accom- 
plish this work. The triumph of the Jews was unbounded. 
Men, women, and children, all engaged in this delightful task. 
Great quantities of materials were soon collected. The founda- 
tion was soon dug out. Preparations were making for laying the 
foundation stones. Suddenly flames of fire burst from the place, 
accompanied by terrible explosions. An earthquake shook the 
place; and the people, panic struck, had to abandon their im- 
pious undertaking. This was not all. The Babylonish Jews 
were not on all occasions disposed to join their western breth- 
ren. They remained faithful to the Persians on this occasion. 
Julian fell in this expedition against Persia. 

In his death the western Jews saw their loftiest hopes blasted. 
In his untimely end, the observer of Divine Providence saw the 
judgment of God against a proud blasphemer and a cruel per- 
secution. Jovian succeeded to the vacant throne. He reversed 
all the proceedings of Julian, and the Jews were greatly har- 
rassed. During several succeeding reigns their condition was 
not ameliorated. The Christian church had fallen far from its 
primitive purity. Popery now was firmly established. The 
arm of power palsied the holiness of the professed followers of 
Christ. It is beyond contradiction true that no church maintains 
its purity long, that is upheld by the corrupt powers of this 
world. 

The Roman pontiffs and their bishops were now disposed to 
join the infuriated rabble in persecuting these miserable exiles. 
And now for many centuries the Jews beheld in the church of 
Rome, their worst and most cruel tormentors. Charity would 
willingly bury in forgetfulness the foul stain upon their holy 
profession — but the page of the world's history will transmit it 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



645 



to the latest posterity. In this and many other such like cruel- 
ties, the strongly marked features of Anti-Christ fix themselves 
upon that corrupt church. 

While the dark cloud of ignorance and superstition, was thus 
gathering over the nations, it cannot be wondered at, that the 
Jews partook of the general evil. The Arian heresy had pro- 
duced great disorder in the church. It had been condemned 
at the council of Nice, as early as A. D. 325. But still it found 
many advocates in these days of spiritual declension. It is re- 
markable that the Jews on all occasions sided with the Arians. 
They thus brought upon themselves the displeasure of the 
church of Rome. But the Gothic kings of Italy favored the 
Jews, because they also favored Arianism. About the com- 
mencement of the fifth century the Jews became very tumul- 
tuous in their observance of the feast of Purim, and their an- 
cient deliverance under queen Esther. At length the civil au- 
thority had to prevent their mad enthusiasm. Theodosius put 
a period to these festivals. This happened about A. D. 408. 
In Syria matters stood badly with them. Between Chalcis and 
Antioch, at a place called Inmestar, some profligate Jews 
mocked and blasphemed the name of Christ in the streets. 
They then erected a cross, and fastened a boy of Christian edu- 
cation to it. They abused him so much that he died. This led 
to a severe retribution. Theodosius II, brought them to their 
senses. 

Very soon afterward, a difficulty took place in Alexandria, 
which caused much blood to be shed. Indeed Egypt in all ages 
seems to have been an unpropitious place for the Jews. The 
difficulty alluded to took place in the theatre. A schoolmaster 
of the city named Hierax, attended the theatre. Many Jews 
were there, and they raised an out-cry against this man. The 
consequence was they had him scourged. Cyril, the bishop of 
Alexandria, sent for some of the principal Jews, and informed 
them that he would have them scourged, if they did not cause 
all tumults against the Christians to cease. Instead of doing as 
they were required; in the dead hour of the night, they raised 
the cry of fire. When the Christians assembled from all quar- 
ters to save the church, the Jews fell upon the unsuspecting 
multitude, and murdered many of them. For this act of wanton 
barbarity they were severely chastised. Some were killed, the 
rest driven away; and their property confiscated. Occasionally, 
however, the reader of ecclesiastical history will meet with rela- 
tions much more pleasing. Hilary of Poictiers, gained the good 
will of the Jews so much, by the spirit of love and kindness, 
that at his funeral the Israelites were heard chanting in Hebrew 
their mournful Psalms for the loss of the Christian bishop. The 
patriarchate had attained the zenith of its glory, and was now 



646 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



shedding its last feeble rays upon the Israelites. Theodosius put 
an end to this spiritual monarchy. The patriarch had acted in 
defiance of the laws of the empire; and now his power was 
wrested forever from his hands. It passed however into the 
hands of the Rabbins; and for ages this aristocracy exercised 
almost unlimited sway over the consciences of the people. 

Two Talmuds had been completed before the downfall of the 
Jewish schools — the Talmud of Babylon and the Talmud of 
Jerusalem. The former was so much preferred that it became 
at once the religion and the law of all the Hebrew race. Thirty 
years were occupied in its compilation; and it is a surprising 
monument of the industry and folly of mankind. For nearly 
150 years, that is from about A. D. 350 to A. D. 500, the north- 
ern barbarians were almost constantly making inroads inlo 
the Roman empire. This mighty empire, which had long been 
a terror to a great part of the world, was now fast tending to 
decay. The whole frame of society was disorganized. Many 
great and strange events transpired among the nations. 

The Jews were found in almost every land. Sent as slaves, 
transported as nuisances, or attracted by the hope of gain; the 
seed of this imperishable people was widely scattered over the 
globe. They had now no local attachments, no kindly feelings, 
no stimulus to honor, in common with the rest of mankind. 
The miseries of others affected them not. They were sullen, 
cruel, debased, and scornful. The present is a period truly 
gloomy. The very foundations of society were broken up. 
War, rapine, and cruelty, were making dreadful inroads upon 
the peace of society. Cities, towns, and villages, were burned. 
The best families were reduced to beggary, — churches were 
plundered, — worshippers were murdered, — whole countries were 
laid in ruins. But of all people in the world at this time, the 
Jews probably suffered the least; notwithstanding they were 
every where viewed as an execration and a reproach. Like 
some of the inferior creation, wherever bloodshed and devasta- 
tion were, there were they. Ever ready to plunder and never 
ready to show pity; their cunning and their avarice taught them 
how to obtain the world's wealth. 

Whoever will read the accounts we have of the dreadful con- 
vulsions, which took place among the kingdoms of the world in 
these days, and will patiently examine the systematic course of 
fraud and cruelty pursued by the Jews in these days of calam- 
ity, will be able to account for the deep rooted prejudices enter- 
tained against them in the time of the crusades. The natural 
disposition of fallen man, is to hate his enemy. It is the province 
of the Holy Spirit to change the heart, and incline the man to 
love his enemy. In these days of natural and moral ignorance, 
what need we expect to see in general, but that depraved, guilty 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



647 



man will act out the feelings of his corrupt heart. Days of 
greater darkness had probably never been seen on earth. 

When the Goths besieged Naples, the Jews assisted them. 
For this, the Greek general Belisarius, put to death every Jew 
male and female, that he could find. There is one characteris- 
tic of the Jews during the present and some subsequent periods, 
that is very disgusting, I mean their traffic in slaves. They were 
indeed the only persons who carried on traffic to any great ex- 
tent. They purchased prisoners, and made them slaves. Their 
conduct too in this particular was very cruel. The Christian 
bishops remonstrated much against such conduct. Gregory did 
what was in his power to suppress this inhuman traffic. 

To Candidus he writes, 44 Dominic, the bearer of this letter, 
has with tears made known to us, that his four brothers have 
been bought by the Jews, and are at present their slaves at Nar- 
bonne. We direct you to make inquiry into this matter, and, 
if it be true, to redeem them at a proper price, which you will 
charge in your accounts, i. e. deduct from the annual payment 
made to Rome." 

Again, he writes to Thierri and Theodobert, kings of the 
Franks, and to queen Brunehant; "We are in amazement, that 
in your kingdom Jews are permitted to possess Christian slaves. 
For what are Christians but members of Christ's body, who as 
ye know — as we all know, is their head? Is it not most incon- 
sistent to honor the head and to allow the members to be 
trampled upon by his enemies? We entreat your majesties to 
expel this baneful traffic from your dominions — so will ye show 
yourselves true worshippers of the Almighty God, by delivering 
his faithful from the hands of their adversaries." 

About A. D. 570, Chilperic and Dagobert became very cruel 
to the Jews. Under these kings their sufferings in France were 
extreme. Cavades and Chosroes, kings of Persia, also dreadfully 
harrassed them. The second Chosroes gratified them with the 
murder of 90,000 Christians at the taking of Jerusalem. It is 
about this time that we first find the Turks mentioned in history. 
They soon spread themselves abroad; and their arms were suc- 
cessful almost every where they went. In A. D. 612, Mahomet 
published his Koran. He had been assisted in the compilation 
of it by a Jew. It is a fact well known to every person who 
has examined the Koran, that there is much in it taken from the 
Jewish scriptures. Some of the Jews seemed to look to Ma- 
homet as the Messiah. 

The world had not become settled after the war-shock it had 
received from the Goths and Vandals, and other northern 
hordes, when the Turks began to spread consternation and ruin 
all around them. Fully half the then known world was revolu- 
tionized, in government, religion and manners. In Asia Chris- 



648 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



tianity fell from its lofty stand, and sunk into an inconsiderable 
sect in Armenia. In Africa the flourishing churches submitted 
to the teachers of Islamism. A mosque now stood on Mount 
Moriah. The Jews were held in utter derision by the Mahom- 
etans. Yet in Spain they amassed great wealth, and rose to 
great distinction in learning. The Samaritans all this while 
had been more or less affected by the troubles of their kinsmen 
the Jews. But the time had now come, when our Lord's pre- 
diction concerning them should be fulfilled to the very letter. 
John, iv. 21. They had all along put a false construction upon 
our Lord's statement to the woman of Samaria, at Jacob's well, 
in the suburbs of Sychar. They looked forward to the time, 
when they should offer purer worship on Gerizim. 

A Christian church had been established in Sychar, now called 
Neapolis. The Samaritans were galled at the knowledge of 
such a fact. On Easter day they broke in upon the Christians 
who were celebrating the Lord's supper. Many Christians were 
put to death, and the rest treated with great indignity. Their 
bishop, Terebinthus, had some of his fingers cut off. He fled to 
Constantinople. Zeno, then on the throne of the East, severely 
punished the offenders; killing some, and expelling the rest from 
Gerizim. They were now reduced to the condition of the Jews. 
A Christian church was erected on the summit of Gerizim. 
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men 
count slackness." 2 Pet. iii. 9. 

During the reign of Justinian, a great question was discussed 
among the Jews. From the feet of their being so widely scat- 
tered, and their learning the languages of the nations, it became 
a question, — whether their worship should be performed in 
the Hebrew tongue, or in the language of the nation where the 
service was performed? The Rabbins saw their craft in danger. 
Every dot, every letter, and every combination of letters, they 
said had some peculiar spiritual but mystic meaning, which none 
but the Rabbins could understand and teach. If the Hebrew 
language should no longer be used, the whole of their know- 
ledge would at once become common. 

Justinian interfered in the dispute. He passed a law forbid- 
ding the use of the Talmud, and allowing the use of the Greek 
language in the reading of the law. This was a sore mortifi- 
cation to the Rabbins. But the law either was not executed, or 
the Jews evaded it. The Rabbins still used the sacred language. 
It had long been a proverb with them, " Cursed be he that 
cateth swine's flesh, or teacheth his child Greek." During this 
reign many Jews were murdered, and their property confiscated. 
In this age the Samaritans had engrossed the business of money- 
lending, and money-changing. The terms Samaritan and 
money-changer, were then synonymous, as those of Jew and 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



649 



usurer have been since. About 120 years before Christ, some 
Jews had settled in that part of Arabia called Homeritis. From 
all the testimony we have, these became a^ite numerous, and for 
a while eluded the persecutions, to which their brethren else- 
where were subjected. These Jews of course had no hand in 
the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems they were 
not involved in the punishment of the other Jews for the com- 
mission of this crime: "His blood be upon us, and upon our 
children." Christianity was at length carried into their neigh- 
borhood, and they rejected it. By rejecting Christ, they sanc- 
tioned what their brethren had done. And now they must 
become partakers of their punishment. 

Dunaan, who it appears was a warlike person among them, 
determined to destroy the Christians in his neighborhood. 
With a numerous army he besieged Nagra, and demanded that 
the inhabitants should deny the doctrine of the Trinity. This 
they refused to do. Dunaan then gave the signal, and many of 
the Christians were slaughtered, while others were made slaves. 
The bones of Paulus, who had been a bishop, were taken from 
his grave and burned. Soon afterward they were miserably 
harrassed by Eles-baan. Still many Jews resided in Arabia. 
Mahomet thought to make them his associates in plunder, and 
to get them to acknowledge him as the Messiah. But they 
scorned to acknowledge a son of Hagar, the bondwoman, as 
the Messiah, the king of Israel. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Suffering of the Jews in Medina, — Respite under the dominion of 
the Caliphs, — The Caraites. — Suffering of the Jews from the 
Crusaders. 

We have brought the history of the descendants of Abraham 
down to the time of Mahomet. We will again see them pass 
through many changes, but still scattered and peeled, derided 
and oppressed. And in all these various circumstances, we shall 
still find them obstinate and perverse, deluded and blinded. 
In Medina many Jews were put to the sword by Abubekir. Also 
in all that region of country they suffered greatly. "Islamism 
or war, 5 ' was the maxim of the day. The Jews were slaugh- 
tered horribly; for Mahomet had issued orders that all who 
would not submit, should be put to the sword. The Koran re- 
lates, with triumph, a dreadful butchery committed upon the 
Jews in the city of Medina. Mahomet went to destroy the 



650 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



Jews of Koraidha; Caab, their leader, advised the Jews to sur- 
render. They came down from their castle, and begged for 
mercy. The decision of the matter was left to Saad, that is 
Abu-Amru. He was carried into the camp wounded. The Jews 
cried to him for favor: "Ob, Abu-Amru, have mercy on us!" 
He with great solemnity uttered his judgment. "Let all the 
men be put to death, and the women and children be slaves." 
The prophet answered, 44 A divine judgment — a judgment from 
the highest of the seven heavens." 

Seven hundred men were taken to Medina in chains; their 
graves were dug — they went down into them and perished. 
Ultimately the Jews were rooted out of Arabia by Omar the 
successor of Abubekir. Dunng the wars of Mahomet against 
the Jews in Arabia, a Jewish woman made him a present of a 
sheep. He ate a part of it, but was warned to be cautious. 
The sheep was poisoned. And although it did not prove fatal 
to him, yet the effects of the poison remained in his system 
during his life time. Rapidly did the Moslemite conquest spread 
over the northern countries of Africa; and there it triumphs till 
the present day. Multitudes of Jews Were found there. In the 
city of Alexandria alone 40,000 Jews resided. When men are 
placed under very adverse circumstances, they are generally 
prepared for a change. It was so in this case. The Jews gen- 
erally promoted the views of the conquerors. They are 
strongly suspected of having invited the Moorish caliphs to 
possess themselves of Spain. In this country a dreadful perse- 
cution of the Jews raged, and they no doubt, out of revenge, 
were ready to turn against their oppressors. 

After suffering severely for a long time, a respite at length 
seemed to be afforded them under the dominion of the Caliphs. 
Under the Caliphate they rose in many instances to wealth and 
power. Their schools flourished; and learning was honored. 
The Jews furnished the best physicians of the age. It is 
probable they had one advantage in the healing art over others. 
They were almost, if not entirely, the only people in the west, 
who had any knowledge of the eastern languages. By this 
means they knew the names of medical ingredients, unknown to 
their neighbors. Add to this, their many opportunities of ob- 
taining such articles through the medium of Jewish merchants, 
who were traveling to and fro continually for the sake of 
gain. Times of peace are ever favorable to speculations and 
reflection. 

The Jews at the time Mahometanism began to prevail were 
quite united in their religious opinions. The Talmud was the 
rule. The Rabbins settled all questions. The Pharisees had 
always been the most numerous sect. And now that all mat- 
ters were in the hands of the Rabbins, the Pharisees we may 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



651 



say composed the whole body of the Jewish people. But when 
their schools were revived, a spirit of inquiry was produced 
among the scholars. About A. D. 750, Anan, a Babylonish 
Jew, declared openly for the written word of God alone, exclu- 
sive of all tradition whatever. A schism was immediately 
produced. Many saw the absurdity of the fables of the Tal* 
mud, and rejected them. This new sect grew very fast. They 
were called Caraites, or scripturists, from the word Cara, which 
in the Babylonish language signifies scripture. Those who still 
adhered to the Talmud, were called Rabbinists. 

The Caraites exist to the present day; but the other Jews 
look upon them as heretics. They may with great propriety 
be considered the Protestants of the Jews. About A. D. 760, 
Jaafar the Iman, ordered that such as embraced Islamism 
should be the sole heirs to their father's wealth. Zayd allowed 
his subjects to abuse the Hebrews. Leo Isaurus, the image 
breaker, dreadfully hated and persecuted the Jews. The pro- 
moters of image worship, on the other hand, forced them to 
worship images, and to curse themselves with the curse of 
Gehazi, if they worshipped not the images in sincerity " of 
heart. However, notwithstanding all their present difficulties, 
they may be said to have enjoyed more peace and more pros- 
perity than they had done for ages. They enriched them- 
selves with the spoils of nations. They engrossed the principal 
commerce of the world. The peace that could not be obtained 
for love, was oft-times bought with money. 

But this general rest and prosperity did not last long. It was 
the calm which precedes the storm. A black cloud was already 
rising, that was to burst upon their devoted heads. Under the 
Sultan Motowakkel, they were persecuted with relentless fury. 
He forbade them the use of horses. They were not allowed to 
aspire higher than to mules. They dared not use iron stirrups, 
and had to wear leather belts. Such marks of contemptuous 
distinction were also adopted by other princes. And in some 
instances they are said still to exist in the east. 

In A. D. 934, David Ben Saccai held the office of Prince of 
the captivity. After his decease a conflict took place between 
his successor and the heads of the schools. Scherira taught and 
ruled in the school of Pherutz Shabur. In the reign of the 
Caliph Mahmood, a cruel tyrant, this celebrated teacher, 100 
years old, was hung up by the hand till he expired. His son 
Hai escaped the fury of Mahmood for the present. Hezekiah 
was now prince of the captivity. But after a reign of only two 
years he and his family were arrested by the order of the Caliph. 
The Jews of learning and distinction fled to Egypt and Spain. 
The schools were closed. Hezekiah, the last Resch Glutha, or 

76 



652 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



Prince of the captivity, of the house of David, died an ignomi- 
nious death upon the scaffold. 

This was a time of darkness over all lands. With what 
fearful strides had iniquity overspread the earth! Bloodshed and 
cruelty were seen in all nations. A dreadful massacre of the 
Danes took place in England. Violent commotions tore Venice. 
Two Popes had been elected at one time in Rome, one by the 
clergy, and one by the people. Robert II. of France was ex- 
communicated for marrying his cousin Bertha, by Pope Gregory 
V. The Russians and Saracens were severely chastised by the 
armies of the Byzantine empire under John Zimisces. Add to 
all this, a general expectation of the Day of Judgment prevailed 
very generally, causing much terror and alarm. These facts are 
mentioned to show the state of the world at the close of 1000 
years, after the appearance of the Son of God upon earth. It 
is impossible to read the records of the nations without feeling 
that man has greatly corrupted his way; and that God is good, 
infinitely good and long-suffering, or sudden vengeance would 
wipe away the foul blot from the creation. 

Under such a variety of difficult circumstances, the Jews ne- 
cessarily suffered much. They were plundered every where; 
and in those places where the greatest lenity had been shown 
them in past time, they were now persecuted with the most un- 
relenting cruelty. The Jews had sunk very much in character. 
From being so long and so much despised, they became truly 
despicable. In numberless instances they dissembled so much as 
to join the church of Rome to save their lives. It is said, to this 
day, there are priests of the Romish church in Spain, who per- 
form their duties as such, in public, but are Jews privately; and 
others who publicly profess to be Catholics, train up their chil- 
dren in Judaism. 

The feudal system had now begun to prevail very generally in 
Europe. It placed every man in some particular grade or caste 
of society. But still the Jew was not recognized in it. In these 
times, however, he could not travel from country to country, as 
in former days, at his own option. This cut off much of their 
trade in the way of merchandise. Many of them, therefore, be- 
took themselves to the business of usurers. One effect the feudal 
system produced was to to cut off the Jew from the cultivation 
of soil; he could not own it; he was not considered a serf. Every 
serf was subject to his knight or baron, and bound to bear arms at 
his bidding. The profession of arms would have been considered 
as disgraced in these days of chivalry, if a Jew had been permit- 
ted to enter the ranks of the brave. For this reason a Jew could 
not be a serf: and in consequence stood aloof from all society. 
It is easy to see that, under such circumstances, they w*ere likely 
to become the prey of every avaricious chieftain, who might wish 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



653 



to despoil them of their wealth. Protection therefore Ijad to be 
bought, and often at an enormous price. Passports became ne- 
cessary whenever any journey was undertaken. In this way 
these wretched people were made a source of wealth to the 
haughty barons of the times. But though their safety might thus 
be bought with money, yet their persons were to be held in utter 
contempt by the haughty knight. 

Chivalry and fanaticism went hand in hand in these days. 
We are told that when Clovis, king of the Franks, heard a 
preacher describe the sufferings of our Saviour under the Jews 
and Romans, he suddenly stood up in the assembly, and, with 
great warmth, said, "Had I and my brave Franks been there, 
they dared not have done it." This may be taken as a proper 
sample of the spirit of knighthood of the middle ages. " W hat 
they could not prevent, they could revenge." Every valiant 
knight considered himself the servant of God, bound to use his 
good sword for the extermination of his Lord's enemies. About 
A. D. 1020, they were expelled from England during the reign 
of Canute I. The first crusade was espoused by pope Urban II, 
in A. D. 1095. Peter the Hermit preached up the crusade over 
a considerable part of Europe. Kings, knights, and serfs, all 
flocked to the standard. Immense armies were raised to rescue 
Jerusalem out of the hands of the Moslems. To say any thing 
here as to the nature of the crusades, and the wild and furious 
spirit which they fomented all over Europe, would be foreign 
from our purpose. The most costly -preparations had been made ? 
and the most sanguine hopes of success entertained. 

When an immense multitude of these undisciplined troops had 
reached the vicinity of the city of Treves, the idea was propa- 
gated in the camp, that while they were going to rescue the Holy 
Sepulchre from the infidels, they were leaving in their own land 
the murderers of our Lord. With one voice they rushed upon 
the city, put to death every Jew they could find, and pillaged 
their property. 

It is truly sickening to think of the misery of the Jews at this 
time. Men were seen murdering their own children, to keep 
them from falling into the hands of their enemies. Women 
would bind their children fast to their own bodies and plunge 
into a watery grave, to escape a more cruel end. Righteous 
God! shall such brutality go unpunished? In Metz, Mentz, 
Worms, Spire, and Cologne, the same sanguinary scene was 
acted over again. This dreadful carnage spread to all the cities 
on the Maine and Danube. The blood of the Jews marked the 
footsteps of the crusaders every where they went. 

Again, through the instrumentality of a monk named Rodolph, 
persecution raged against these miserable men. He visited the 
cities of Germany to teach the people to show no mercy to the 



"654 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



enemies of the church of Rome. The terrible cry of "HEP,'* 
was heard all along the Pvhine. This term is supposed to be an 
abbreviation of "Hierosolyma est perdita," — Jerusalem is lost. 
This was the signal for the work of death. Some of the Jews 
made a timely escape; but frightful destruction took place in 
Cologne, Mentz, Worms, Spire, and Strasburg. At this date 
they seemed to be considered the common enemy of God and 
man. The most cruel and vengeful feelings towards them ex- 
isted every where. 

On the 14th day of February, A. D. 1198, the Jews were in 
their synagogues at Paris. Suddenly they were surrounded by 
the troops. Their property was confiscated. They, their wives, 
and children, destitute of clothes, provisions, or means to travel, 
were all compelled to depart the kingdom under the execrations 
of the people. A few years before this, at the coronation of 
Richard I. of England, in A. D. 1189, the mob fell upon the 
Jews, and cruelly murdered many of them. During this and the 
succeeding year this persecution raged in England. When Rich- 
ard went off to the crusade the people rose and murdered multi- 
tudes of Jews. The intention was to murder every one in the 
kingdom. About 1500 of them retired to York, and tried to de- 
fend themselves. They were overpowered. They first offered 
to ransom their lives with money. There was no mercy in the 
relentless mob. They then deliberately killed their wives and 
children. Then retiring to the palace, and firing it — they be- 
came their own executioners, as their brethren at Bither had 
done, under the persecution of Adrian, more than 1000 years 
before. 



CHAPTER V. 

Injustice of Louis IX to the Jews — Attempts to destroy the Talmud. — 
Pestilence spreads over Europe, — Jews accused of poisoning the 
wells. — Aaron of York. — Sufferings in Morocco. 

Notwithstanding the Jews had been so cruelly used both in 
England and France, as we have seen in the last chapter, yet 
they still seemed to entertain a wish to remain in these inhospi- 
table regions. We now enter upon an age of bloodshed. As 
if an awful disregard to the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, men almost every where sought to wash 
away their sins with the blood of human victims. ' 

In A. D. 1177, Saladin commenced his warfare against the 
Christians. In A. D. 1180, Philip II. came to the throne of 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



655 



France. In A. D. 1178, the Roman church held a general coun- 
cil against the harmless and pious Albigenses. In A. D. 1183, 
the inhabitants of Berry massacred 7000 of these inoffensive citi- 
zens. The nobles of France at this time were deeply indebted 
to the Jews. A considerable part of Paris, and the estates of 
many of the barons were held under mortgage by the money- 
lending Jews. Sundry laws were made by Philip II. respecting 
this matter. But finally the property of the Jews was confis- 
cated, and the debts due to them by the barons remitted. This 
was unjust and abominable. In A. D. 1234, Louis IX, usually 
called St. Louis, remitted one-third of all the debts due from the 
people to the Jews, for the benefit of his soul. In A. D. 1239, the 
populace rose upon the Jews in Paris, and committed dreadful 
barbarity. In Orleans and. many other places the same course 
was pursued. At Britanny, in particular, they were cruelly 
treated. John the Red was extreme in choler against them. 
He ordered them to be banished — allowed the people who held 
their property to retain it — remitted all debts due to them — and 
encouraged the Catholics to kill them. 

Louis became more intolerant. He now aimed at the destruc- 
tion of their religion. He issued an edict for the destruction of 
the Talmud. 44 Four and twenty carts full of these ponderous 
tomes were committed to the flames in Paris. " The Jews were 
now prohibited from practicing as physicians, on the charge of 
their possessing much dark or diabolical knowledge. Not con- 
tent with all this, the " Rouelle " was next introduced. This was 
a piece of blue cloth sewed on the back and front of the outer 
garment, whether of male or female. This mark of indignity 
reduced them to inevitable and unceasing scorn and persecution. 
Philip III., surnamed the Hardy, who came to the throne in A. 
D. 1271, enforced, and even increased, the severity of the laws 
against them. In A. D. 1285, Philip IV., surnamed the Fair, 
rose to the throne. He determined to drive the Jews out of his 
territory. All the cruelty of his predecessors he now acted over 
again, and the surviving Jews wandered off in search of a new 
home. Unhappy men! what misery has not your unbelieCpro- 
cured for you on earth? In A. D. 1190, the power of granting 
indulgences to commit crimes for certain sums of money, was first 
assumed by the pope, Urban III; thus rendering the character 
of the mother of Harlots indubitable; and opening wide the flood 
gates of iniquity upon a world already sunk in awful disregard of 
the Majesty of Heaven. In A. D. 1204, the Inquisition was es- 
tablished in France. About this time, King John, of England, 
was excommunicated. In A. D. 1215, the order of the Dominicans 
was instituted. In A. D. 1229, the Dominicans were intrusted 
with the Inquisition. In the same year the Word of God was 
prohibited to the laity. About the same time, the Waldenses 



656 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



were severely persecuted in the Valley of Piedmont. Under 
such a state of affairs, it is not to be expected that the Jews 
should have rest or ease. Wretched were these people under 
such intolerance. 

But especially was the Inquisition, in its dreadful usurpations, 
a source of unparalleled horror and woe to these wretched hu- 
man beings. In Spain they were dreadfully abused by the pop- 
ulace of Arragon. during this century. Henry III. of Castile, 
persecuted them. His son John caused great multitudes of them 
to be put to death. In Egypt and Syria they met with cruel 
treatment from the crusaders. Early in the following century, 
about A. D. 1321 — 1330, the peasants of France, called the 
" Fanatic Shepherds, " assembled themselves in immense multi- 
tudes, having some faint view of making a crusade. The busi- 
ness of the field was abandoned, the peaceful life of the hus- 
bandman renounced for the tumult of the camp — the shepherd's 
pipe for the notes of war and desolation. The roads were filled 
with immense armies of men following the standard of a white 
cross. They were in most instances miserably poor. They were 
neither provided with clothes, provisions, arms, nor money. 
They begged for bread as they passed through the kingdom. It 
is probable that a greater part of them knew not what they in- 
tended. But it so turned out that their fury was spent upon the 
miserable Jews whom they met with — particularly in the south 
of France. Immediately afterward a pestilence broke out, which 
spread over all Europe. This was in the year 1347. From the 
best accounts we have of this plague, we presume nearly, if not 
quite, one fourth of the inhabitants of Europe perished. The 
Jews suffered by it, as well as other people. But the great mis- 
fortune was, that they were charged with being the authors of it. 
They were supposed to have poisoned all the wells, springs, and 
rivers. It is useless to remark, that the charge was unjust, and 
without foundation — the prejudiced will still think them guilty. 
For this supposed crime, many paid the forfeit of their lives. 
Two years afterward a dreadful persecution of the Jews raged 
at Toledo, in Spain. Many of them were forced to take their 
own lives, and many compelled to change their religion. In 
A. D. 1358, they were totally banished from France. Since that 
expulsion, comparatively few of them ever returned before the 
commencement of the present century. The Jews were pretty 
numerous in England during the reign of Henry III. (Plantage- 
net.) When he first came to the throne, he was disposed to be 
lenient towards them. But the barons every where oppressed 
them. On one occasion, we hear of a law forbidding Christians 
to sell them the necessaries of life. Henry's great extravagance 
soon involved him in difficulties. But he levied still weightier 
taxes on the Jews, and wrung from them again and again im- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



657 



mense sums of money. Aaron, of York, it is said, had 30,000 
marks of silver, and 200 of gold, extorted from him, during the 
short space of seven years. During this reign, the Jews were 
obliged to erect a beautiful cross of white marble, and an image 
of the Virgin and the Child, gilt all over, in the area of Merton 
College, Oxford. They were also forced to present to the proc- 
tors another cross of silver. This exaction was in consequence 
of a Jew having insulted the cross, during the procession of the 
chancellor and members of the University. A singular fact oc- 
curred during this reign. Henry being hard pressed for money, 
sold all the Jews in the kingdom to his brother, Richard of Corn- 
wall, for 5,000 marks. He gave him full authority over their 
persons and property. " The records of Great Britain still pre- 
serve the terms of this singular bargain and sale. " During the 
reign of his son and successor, Edward I. (Longshanks) the Jews 
were most cruelly oppressed. It seems, however, that they were 
chargeable with 66 clipping and adulterating the coin. " In one 
year 280 Jews were publicly executed for this offence. Edward 
at length confiscated their property, and drove them out of the 
kingdom. " The number of exiles is variously estimated at 15,060 
and 16,511; all their property, debts, obligations, mortgages, es- 
cheated to the King. " It is said that their libraries were for 
some time possessed by the convents. Roger Bacon derived 
much information from the Jewish or Hebrew library at Oxford. 
In the month of September, A. D. 1480, the Inquisition was es- 
tablished in Spain, by pope Sextus, the Fourth. This happened 
in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. It is difficult to find 
terms with which to reprobate this dreadful tribunal. If the en- 
emy of souls were permitted to use all his malicious and diabolic 
art, we very much doubt whether he could go beyond the Inqui- 
sition in fiend-like cruelty. Frightful must be the retribution of 
those wolves in sheep's clothing, who originated and propagated 
so horrid a system of wickedness. In the judgment of the great 
day, how dreadful will be the evidence of their guilt from the 
" Castel de Triana, " and the " Quemadero. " During the year 
i ' which Spain was enriched with the discovery and possession 
of a new world, A. D. 1492, the Inquisition was committing the 
most dreadful outrages upon society, but especially upon the 
Jews. " incidents which make the blood run cold, are related 
of the miseries which they suffered. " The number of Jewish 
inhabitants in Spain at this time is estimated at from 300,000 to 
800,000. An edict appeared in this year, commanding all un- 
baptized Jews to quit the realm in four months. They now- 
scattered in various directions. Some went to Italy, some to 
Morocco, and some to Portugal. Many perished on the ocean. 
On other ships the plague broke out. Multitudes of those who 
went to Morocco, perished with famine. They at first encamp- 



658 CONTINUATION OF THE 

ed on the sandy plains, for they could not oh tain admission into 
Fez. Here they lived for a while on the few roots they could 
find. " Happy, " says a Jewish writer, " would they have been, 
if grass had been plentiful. " In this dreadful state of suffering, 
some killed their children to put them out of misery. Others 
sold them into captivity for bread. One party of the Jews who 
were thus driven out of Spain, were barbarously set on shore on 
the coast of Africa, naked and destitute. The first who went up 
to view the country, were devoured of wild beasts, which came 
howling furiously upon them. Multitudes were eaten by the 
wild beasts in Africa. Compare all this with what had been 
threatened in' the days of Moses. Dcut. xxxii, 24. " They shall 
be burned with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and 
with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon 
them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. " This century 
saw them barbarously used in Naples, and Venice also. Soon 
after they were driven out of Spain, Emmanuel, king of Portu- 
gal, married the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. He thus 
brought into his kingdom "a dowry of intolerance and cruelty." 
A persecution now raged against them in Portugal. In very 
many instances, mothers were seen throwing their children into 
wells and rivers, to keep them out of the hands of their merci- 
less oppressors. Many were sent off to the unwholesome climate 
of St. Thomas as slaves. The Dominicans were extremely se- 
vere. On one occasion, in Lisbon, these men came into the 
streets with crucifixes in their hands, exclaiming, 66 Revenge, re- 
venge! down with the heretics; root them out; exterminate 
them. " It is said that they even offered as a reward to every 
one that would kill a Jew, that his soul should remain but one 
hundred days in Purgatory. The kings of Europe generally, as 
we have seen, having driven them out of their kingdoms by force 
or cruelty, they generally bent their course towards the East and 
North. We have already hinted that the Mahometans frequent- 
ly spared their lives. They sometimes, too, were placed in sit- 
uations of trust and profit. The wise Maimonides, a Jewish 
Rabbi, was physician to Saladin. -The Jews were settled all 
along the Mediterranean, from Italy to the Hellespont on the 
European side — on the African side from Morocco to Egypt. 
They now engrossed the trade of the Levant. In Venice and 
other places, the Jews established banks, and made much gain 
by lending money on usurious interest. In Poland, and some 
places in the North of Europe, the Jews were numerous. During 
the reign of Ferdinand, the Jews of Germany assisted him in his 
thirty years war. After the fall of Prague be rewarded them with 
his protection and favor. They were also settled in the free cities 
of Holland; for in A. D. 1579, the seven provinces became 
united and the republic was formed. The Jews found an asylum 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



659 



there. In many instances they rose to great wealth. About A. 
D. 1653, when Oliver Cromwell held the reins of government in 
England, the Jews applied to him for admission into the kingdom. 
A learned Jewish physician, Manasseh Ben Israel, presented two 
petitions, one to Cromwell and one to the people, praying that 
his brethren might be permitted to settle legally in the realm. 
Soon after, in the reign of Charles II. many Jews settled in Eng- 
land, and still many are found there. From A. D. 1663 to A. D. 
1666, the murder of the Jews in Persia became general. Some 
made their escape to Turkey. In Poland, Cassimir the Great 
protected them. He was much enamored of a Jewish mistress. 
For a long time they enjoyed peace in this country. However, 
up to the commencement of the eighteenth century, the world 
scarcely afforded them a refuge. For seventeen centuries every 
man's hand seemed against them — like the bush which Moses 
saw, surrounded with flames, but not consumed. Afflicted, per- 
secuted, despised, and vilified in every land, they fled from place 
to place. A general gloom overspread their affairs, with only 
here and there a gleam of light that served not to guide their 
footsteps, but to bewilder them in the way. The True Light they 
had rejected, and now they must needs walk in darkness. The 
Lord hasten the time when "the hearts of the fathers shall be 
turned to their children; and the disobedient to the wisdom of 
the just;" "for the just shall walk by faith." When "the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in," and "Israel shall be 
saved;" when they shall own the Messiah and worship at his 
feet. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Naturalization Bill in England. — Bonaparte* — False Messiahs. — • 
General Estimate of the number of the Jews in Africa, Asia, 
Europe and America. — Conclusion. 

Though we have but little to say about the Jews during the 
18th century, yet that little, we hope, will be more agreeable to 
our readers than the foregoing details of murder and robbery. 
The condition of the Jews begins every where to improve. Dur- 
ing the reign of Queen Anne, the Jews began to be viewed as 
human beings in England. An act was passed to facilitate con- 
versions from Judaism. In A. D. 1753, a bill was passed in the 
time of George H. for the naturalization of the Jews. The peo- 
ple, however, were not yet enlightened enough to support such a 
measure. The mayor and citizens of London were very clamor- 

77 



660 



CONTINUATION OE THE 



ous against it. The bill had to be rescinded. A respectable 
minister of the gospel, named Tucker, was abused by the popu- 
lace for having written a defence of the measure. Frederick II. 
of Prussia was somewhat unfavorable to the Jews in his legisla- 
tion, though not disposed to persecute them. In Italy the Jews 
were at peace till the French revolution broke out. In Germany 
the condition of the Jews improved, through the influence of 
Moses Mendelsohn, a learned Jew, whose writings improved and 
delighted the age. In Austria they were protected by Maria 
Theresa. The emperor Joseph opened to them the schools and 
universities of the empire. In France but few Jews were found 
in the beginning of this century: and at the time of the revolu- 
tion they were not numerous. In A. D. 1790, they were admit- 
ted citizens of the Republic. 

Bonaparte summoned a general meeting of the Jews in Paris. 
He was favorable to them. In two years years from that time, 
that is, in 1808, there were 80,000 Jews in France. In Ger- 
many, in the large cities the Jews are severely taxed; yet their 
situation is tolerable. " The grand duke of Baden, in 1809, the 
king of Prussia, in 1812, the duke of Mecklenburgh Schiverin, 
in 1812, the King of Bavaria, in 1813, issued ordinances admit- 
ting the Jews to civil rights, and opening to them all trades and 
professions." In Prussia the Jews enjoy the privileges of citi- 
zens, and are fast improving in information and property. In 
Poland they are oppressed by the Russians. In Persia they are 
probably more oppressed at the present day than in any other 
part of the world. They are becoming numerous every where. 
It is pleasant to think that they are improving in knowledge. It 
is to be hoped that the time is not very far distant, when they 
shall acknowledge Jesus, the true Messiah. • 

There is one particular, in the history of these people, which 
we have purposely omitted till the present time, in order to take 
a connected view of it. We mean the delusion of the Jews with 
regard to false Messiahs. Our blessed Lord oft-times warned his 
disciples against false Christs. When we look at what is said on 
this subject in Matt. xxiv. and in Luke xvii. as well as in many 
other places in the word of God, we cannot but wonder at the 
blindness of Israel. But who makes us to differ? "Be not high- 
minded — but fear." "No man can call Christ Lord, save by the 
the Holy Ghost." "By the grace of God, I am what I am." 

In the days of the apostles, Judas and Theudas had already 
appeared. Simon Magus, Dositheus, and the Egyptian, who led 
4000 men into the wilderness and perished, were next. Under 
the government of Felix, pretended Messiahs were so numerous, 
that sometimes one was apprehended every day. During the 
reign of Adrian, about A. D. 130, Barcochab, a bandit, raised 
an army of 200,000 men. He called himself the Messiah, and 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



661 



killed all the christians and heathens that he met with. To such 
a length did he go that Adrian led an army against him. The 
Romans took as many as 50 strong castles from them, and de- 
stroyed as many as 985 towns. Either was besieged three years 
before it was reduced. Between 500,000 and 600,000 Jews per- 
ished in this delusion. About A. D. 432, Moses of Crete set up 
for Messiah. He promised to lead his followers safe through 
the sea to Canaan. Vast numbers threw themselves into the sea 
and were drowned. In the sixth century, a man named Julian 
appeared in Canaan, and called himself the Messiah. He and 
his followers did much mischief. In the end about 20,000 of 
them were slain, and quite as many taken prisoners and sold for 
slaves. About A. D. 724, another false Messiah appeared in 
Spain; his name was Serenus; he was followed by great multi- 
tudes. In A. D. 831, in the East, a man pretended to be Moses 
risen from the dead; he was followed by great multitudes. "Be 
tween 1137 and 1200, there appeared nine or ten pretended 
Messiahs; two in France; two in the Northwest of Africa; one 
David of Moravia; one near the Euphrates; El David and two 
others in Persia. Most of these occasioned a great deal of mis- 
chief to those of their nation, in the places where they lived. 
** In Mesopotamia, Calip Nassoer was so much provoked with their 
mad running after false Messiahs, that he scarcely left a Jew alive 
in his dominions." 

About A. D. 1258, Zechariah of Spain made pretensions to 
the Messiahship. He was followed about the year 1290, by 
another impostor named Moses. From A. D. 1520 to A. D. 1560, 
there were three of these impostors in Europe. Two of them 
were burned to death by Charles V., the third was imprisoned 
during life. About A. D. 1650, it is said that a great number of 
Jews assembled in the plain of Ageda, in Hungary, about 30 
miles from the city of Buda. The object of this meeting was to 
discuss the question of a promised Messiah. They examined the 
question, "Has the Messiah come? and if so, Is Jesus of Naza- 
reth he?" It is said, they were in a fair way of coming at the 
truth for a while. But the Popish doctors present so disgusted 
them with their worship of the Virgin Mary and other saints, 
that they desisted from further inquiry. Probably the most noted 
of the false Messiahs that have appeared, was Sabbathai Sevi. 
He was born about A. D. 1625: and about 1666 made a great 
noise among the Jews. 

So great was the excitement produced in many of the cities 
of Europe, that the course of business was interrupted. The 
Jews sent deputies to know the truth. The answer returned 
was "Tis he, and no other." Multitudes of Jews followed him 
wherever he went. Prayers were offered in the synagogues, 
and he was publicly acknowledged the Messiah. Yet in a 



662 



CONTINUATION OF THE 



little while he turned Mahometan to save his life. He died of 
a fit of colic. A man named Frank afterwards organized a 
sect out of the remains of the followers of Sabbathai Sevi. 
This sect was known by the name of Zoharites. This man 
lived in Vienna, in Brune, and Offenbach. The style and pomp 
in which he lived astonished all Germany. No one knew, nor 
is it yet known, by what means he supported so much extrava- 
gance. 

His funeral was as splendid as his mode of living had been. 
But his family were reduced to want immediately upon his death. 
He embraced Christianity before he died. Mordecai of Ger- 
many appeared next, and pretended to be the Messiah. He 
would have suffered punishment in Italy, if he had not fled into 
Poland. Many false Christs and false prophets have arisen, 
and have deceived multitudes. "For false Christs and false 
prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, 
if it were possible, even the elect." Mark xiii. 22. 

In Asia the Jews are quite numerous. Doctor Buchanan 
describes two races of Jews, which he visited in India. They 
reside on the coast of Malabar. They have been settled there 
for a long time. In China also Jews are found, that have inhab- 
ited that country for many centuries. In Hindoostan their num- 
ber is estimated at 100,000; in China at 60,000; in Russia at 
3,000; in Arabia at 200,00; in Turkey at 330,000; in the inte- 
rior, as in Afghanistan and Tartary, Jews also arc found. 

In Africa, they are settled all over the northern parts. In 
Morocco and Fez, they are estimated at 300,000; in Tunis at 
130,000; in Algiers at 30,000; in Habesh at 20,000; in Tri- 
poli at 12,000; in Egypt at 12,000. There are many Jews who 
travel into the interior with caravans; and Bruce describes a 
tribe called the Falishas, inhabiting the confines of Abyssinia. 
It is probable they are numerous in Abyssinia. In Europe their 
number is estimated as follows. " In Russia and Poland, 608,000; 
Austria, 453,524; European Turkey, 321,000; Germany, 138,- 
000; Prussia, 134,000; Netherlands, 80,000; France, 60,000; 
Italy, 36,000; Great Britain, 12,000; Cracow, 7,300; Ionian 
Isles, 7,000; Denmark, 6,000; Switzerland, 1,970; Sweden, 450."' 

In America they are not numerous. They are supposed to 
amount to about 5,000 in North America. They are settled in 
some parts of South America and in the West Indies. In short 
they are found in almost every country: and whatever may be 
the language, the manners, the laws, the religion, of the people 
among whom they live, they preserve their peculiarity and iden- 
tity. They remain, they live, they die Jews. The whole num- 
ber of Jews on the globe is variously estimated at from three to 
six 7nillions. It is surely- a matter that should gladden oar 
hearts, that their condition is fast improving. Never since the 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



663 



destruction of Jerusalem, have the Jews enjoyed so much peace 
and prosperity, so much civil and religious liberty, as they now 
do. It will be useless to tell any one who reads the following 
passages of Scripture that God intends to bring back the Jews 
to their own land, and establish them there in Peace and Right- 
eousness. 

Dent, xxxii. 36 — 43. Hosea iii. 4-5. Isa. lx. Isa. lxv. 17 — 
25. Isa. xlix. 11—26. Isa. xi. 6 — 16. Isa. xii. Psalms cxlix. 
Ezek. from the xxxvi. to xlviii. Zech. xiv. Rom. xi. Rev. xix. 
It is true we cannot draw aside the veil which hides futurity 
from our view, to ascertain the time when God will perform his 
promise, and accomplish his purpose. This much we do know, 
God has said it: "His counsel will stand, and he will do all his 
pleasure." The Son of David will reign over the seed of Abra- 
ham. The days of their mourning shall be ended. They shall 
return from their apostacy; and He whom they slew and 
hanged on a tree will have mercy upon them. Then shall the 
Truth and the Wisdom and the Goodness of God be vindicated. 
They shall see the sin of their nation in rejecting the Mes- 
siah, and shall mourn over it. The Saviour whom they re- 
jected so long, shall be sought unto, and He will save them 
from sin and woe. Jews and gentiles shall then unite in the 
service of the Prince of Peace. The earth shall be filled with 
His glory. They shall learn war no more. The spirit that was 
in Christ shall be in them also. There shall be one fold, and 
one shepherd. Nothing shall hurt or destroy in all his holy 
mountain. 



THE END. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Preface, - -- - - -- - Page 3 

Introductory Dissertation — Evidences of Christianity. 7 

Life of Christ, CHAP. I. Predictions of the birth of Christ, and John the Bap- 
tist — The salutation — Visit of Mary to EJizabeth — Birth of John. 45 

CHAP. II. General taxation — Christ born — announced to the shepherds — cir- 
cumcised — presented in the Temple — worshipped — Flight into Egypt — The mas- 
sacre — Death of Herod — Return from Egypt. 54 

CHAP. III. Childhood and )'Outh of Christ — Reasoning with the Doctors — Mis- 
sion, Character and Doctrine of the Baptist— Christ's baptism. 67 

CHAP. IV. Christ's ministry — The temptation — Inquiry of the Sanhedrim — 
First miracle. 73 

CHAP. V. The Temple cleansed — Interview with Nicodemus — The ignorant 
taught — Sick healed — Visit to Nazareth unwelcome. 81 

CHAP. VI. Christ visits Capernaum — His followers increase — Preaches in Gali- 
lee — Sermon on the mount. 94 

CHAP. VII. Christ performs several miracles, and journeys through Galilee. 1U6 

CHAP. VIII. Draught of fishes — Leprosy cured — Wind and waves calmed — De- 
mons dispossessed. 109 

CHAP. IX. Acts of mercy — Matthew called — Evil spirit cast out — Journey through 
Galilee — Twelve chosen. 120 

CHAP. X. Christ's mission confirmed. 130 

CHAP. XI. Christ's testimony of John the Baptist — His visit to Simon — His hu- 
mility. 133 

CHAP. XII. Miracle at the Pool of Be the sd a — The Jews reproved — Jesus visited 
by his mother and Brethren. 139 

CHAP. XIII. Parables explained — Return to Nazareth — Twelve commissioned — 
John beheaded. 150 

CHAP. XIV. Miracle of the loaves — Walking on the Sea — Christ preaches in 
Capernaum. 160 

CHAP. XV. Christ reproves the Pharisees — Relieves the afflicted — warns his dis- 
ciples — Does his Father's work. .174 

CHAP. XVI. Special power delegated — Final judgment announced — The Trans- 
figuration. 180 

CHAP. XVII. The dumb cured— Tribute paid— Pride reproved. 187 

CHAP. XVIII. Passover at Jerusalem — Feast of Tabernacles — Adulterous woman 
pardoned — Christ's escape. 195 

CHAP. XIX. Miracles — The seventy commissioned — The Gospel preached in 
Judea. 212 

CHAP. XX. Martha and Mary entertain Christ — A circumstance improved — 
Lord's Prayer 225 

CHAP. XXI. Origin and sentiments of Jewish sects — The multitude taught. 236 

CHAP. XXII. Ignorance reproved — Question answered — Instruction by Parables 
— A woman relieved — Herod's resentment. 244 

CHAP. XXIII. Invitation accepted — Qualifications of a disciple — Christ's case — 
Penitent received — Punishment threatened. 249 

664 



CONTENTS. 



665 



CHAP. XXTV. Pharisees rebuked — Future rewards and punishments — Mutual for- 
bearance. 256 
CHAP. XXV. Lazarus restored — Ten lepers healed. 260 
CHAP. XXVI. Ruin of the Jewish state foretold — Little children blessed. 267 
CHAP. XXVII. Only way of salvation — Parable of the Vineyard — Christ's suf- 
ferings foretold — The way to become great. 277 
CHAP. XXVIII. Sight restored — Zacheus — The nobleman's servants — Mary and 

Martha — Christ's public entrance into Jerusalem. 283 
CHAP. XXIX. Fig tree cursed — Temple cleansed — Christ asserts his authority— 
- Two parables. 287 
CHAP. XXX. Intricate question answered — Law point settled — Christ's mission 

and doctrine established, and the Pharisees forewarned. 295 
CHAP. XXXI. Small benevolent acts commended—Destruction of the Temple 

foretold — Parables. 308 
CHAP. XXXII. Christ anointed — Judas— Disciples' feet washed — Traitor foretold 331 
CHAP. XXXIII. Supper instituted — Dispute settled — Peter's denial — Christ in- 
structs and comforts his Disciples — Scene in the Garden. 340 
CHAP. XXXIV. Christ apprehended— Servant's ear healed. 364 
CHAP. XXXV. Prediction concerning Peter fulfilled. 367 
CHAP. XXXVI. Christ arraigned and tried. 370 
CHAP. XXXVII. Christ before Pilate— Referred to Herod— Judas' end. 373 
CHAP. XXXVIII. Proposals to acquit Jesus rejected, and he is condemned. 378 
CHAP. XXXIX. Christ Crucified. 385 
CHAP. XL. Joseph obtains and inters the body. 400 
CHAP. XLI. Early visits to the sepulchre — Earthquake — Angel — Christ risen. 402 
CHAP. XLII. Angel's address — Two Disciples at the sepulchre — Jesus appears to 

Mary and others. 404 
CHAP. XLIII. Christ appears on different occasions — Thomas. 411 
CHAP. XLIV. Instructions and promises to the Disciples — Benediction — Ascen- 
sion — General review of the Life and the Doctrines of Christ. 420 
CHAP. XLV. Christian Religion — its nature, principles, and fitness to the condi- 
tion of Man. 425 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. PETER, 


from page 437 


to 


459 


ST. PAUL, 


459 




487 


ST. ANDREW, 


488 




491 


ST. JAMES THE GREAT, 


492 




494 


ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, - 


494 




497 


ST. PHILIP, 


498 




500 


ST. BARTHOLOMEW, - 


500 




502 


ST. MATTHEW, - 


502 




505 


ST. THOMAS, 


505 




508 


ST. JAMES THE LESS, 


508 




511 


ST. SIMON THE ZEALOT, 


511 




513 


ST. JUDE, 


513 




514 


ST. MATTHIAS, 


514 




515 


ST. MARK, ~ 


515 




517 


ST. LUKE . - 


517 




519 


ST. BARNABAS, - - 


519 




525 


ST. STEPHEN, 


526 




529 


TIMOTHY, 


529 




533 


TITUS, 


533 




534 


THE VIRGIN MARY, 


535 




543 


MARY, THE SISTER OF LAZARUS, 


544 




545 


JOSEPH, 


545 




546 


JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, 


546 




547 


NICODEMUS, 


" - 547 




548 


JOHN MARK, 


548 




549 


CLEMENT - 
MARY MAGDALENE, 


549 




551 


551 




552 



! 



666 CONTEXTS. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS, - - - from page 553 to 629 

« " u CONTINUED, - - - 633 - 663 

ILLUSTRATIVE ENGRAVINGS. 

The Annunciation, - page 50 

The Adoration of the Wise Men, 60 
Herod's Massacre of the Infants, - - - - 65 

Driving out the Money Changers, - 83 

Nicodemus' Interview with Christ, - - - - 87 

Miraculous Draught of Fishes, - 111 

Christ asleep in the Storm, - - - - - 115 

Peter's want of Faith, - - - - 165 

Christ giving sight to the Blind, _____ 181 

The woman taken in Adultery, - 203 

The Disciples sent forth, _____ 221 

Pharisee and Publican in the Temple, - - - - 271 

Jesus blessing Little Children, _____ 275 

Christ lamenting over Jerusalem, - 311 

The Wise and Foolish Virgins, _____ 319 

Christ scourged by the soldiers, - - - - 381 

Christ bearing his Cross, _____ 3^7 

The Crucifixion of Christ, _____ 397 

Thomas' Incredulity, ------ 417 

Conversion of St. Paul, - ' - - 461 

Elymas, the Sorceror, struck Blind, - 467 

Paul Preaching at Athen - 475 

Paul and Barnabas reputed as Gods, - 523 

Stephen Stoned to death. - - - 528 




Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 



APRIL2013 



ll 





5 

CD 



194 



FAITH AND FREEDOM. 



horrify the one by his heterodox opinions, as they would 
be called; the other by his absolute carelessness and 
scorn of many of the very j^alladia of society. Suppos- 
ing he were to denounce — as he would in no measured 
terms — our system of caste; attack, as he did of old in 
Judea, our most cherished maxims about property and 
rights ; live in oj^osition to certain social rules, receiv- 
ing sinners and dining with outcasts; tear away the 
flimsy veil of words whereby we excuse our extrava- 
gance, our vanity, our pushing for position; contemn 
with scorn our accredited hypocrisies, which we think 
allowable, because they make the surface of society 
smooth ; live among us his free, bold, unconventional, 
outspoken life, — how should we receive him? It is a 
question which it is worth while that society should ask 
itself. 

I trust more would hail his advent than we think. 
I believe the time is come when men are sick of false- 
hood, sick of the tyranny of custom, sick of living in 
unreality ; that they are longing for escape, longing for 
a new life and a new order of things, longing for some 
fresh ideas to come and stir, like the angel, the stagnant 
pool. What is the meaning of the vague hopes every- 
where expressed about the new Parliament ? It really 
means that England is anxious for a more ideal, a more 
true and serious life, a reformed society. 

Again, to connect this first question with the religious 
world : suppose Christ were to come now and proclaim 
in Scotland that the Sabbath was made for man, or to 
preach the Sermon on the Mount as the full revelation 
of God to men accustomed to hear the gospel scheme 
discussed each Sunday. In the first case he would be 



DEVOTION TO THE CONVENTIONAL. 195 

persecuted as an infidel, and in the second as a heretic. 
Supposing he were now to speak against sacerdotal pre- 
tension or the worship of the letter of the Bible, against 
a religion which sought to gain life from minute observ- 
ances, or against a Sadducean denial of all that is spirit- 
ual (a tendency of the religious liberals of to-day), as 
strongly and as sharply as he spoke at Jerusalem, — how 
would he escape? The religious world could not crucify 
him, but they would open on him the tongue of perse- 
cution. 

I believe there are thousands who would join them- 
selves to him, thousands more than recognized him in 
Judea, — for the world has advanced indeed since then, — 
thousands of true men from among all religious bodies, 
and thousands from among those who are now plenti- 
fully sprinkled with the epithets of rationalists, infidels, 
heretics, and atheists ; but there are thousands who call 
themselves by his name who would turn from him in 
dismay or in dislike, who would neglect or persecute 
him, for he would come among our old conservatisms of 
religion, among our doctrinal systems and close creeds, 
superstitions, false liberalisms, priesthoods, and ritual- 
isms, as he came of old among them all in Jerusalem, like 
lightning, to consume and wither everything false, retro- 
grade, conventional, restricted, uncharitable, and super- 
stitious; to kindle into life all that is living, loving, akin 
to light, and full of truth within our religious world. If 
we could accept the revolution he would make, our 
national religion would be saved : if not, it would be 
enervated by the blow, and die. 

Brethren, we ought, realizing these things as members 
of society or members of any religious body, — realizing, 



196 



FAITH AND FREEDOM. 



I say, Christ speaking to us as he would speak now, — to 
feel our falseness, and, in the horror of it, to act like 
men who have discovered a traitor in their camp, whom 
they must destroy or themselves perish. We may save 
our nation if we resolve, each one here for himself, to 
free ourselves from cant and formalism and superstition, 
to step into the clear air of freedom, individuality, and 
truth, to live in crystal ujmghtne.ss of life and holiness 
of heart. 

And, lastly, ask yourselves this second question, how 
far the spirit of the world, as devotion to convention- 
ality, to accredited opinion, is preventing you £>ersonally 
from receiving Christ. 

Is your sole aim the endeavor to please your party, 
running after it into that which you feel as evil, as well 
as that which you feel as good ; forfeiting your Christian 
individuality as a son of God, that you may follow in the 
wake of the public opinion of your party? Is that your 
view of manly duty ? Then you cannot receive Christ, 
for he demands that you should be true to your own 
soul. 

Are you permitting yourself to chime in with the low 
morality of the day, to accept the common standard held 
by the generality, rejmdiating, as if it were a kind of 
Christian charity to do so, the desire to be better than 
your neighbors, and so coming at last to join in the light 
laugh with which the world treats social immoralities, 
reckless extravagance, the dishonesty of trade or the 
dishonesty of the exchange, or the more flagrant shame, 
dishonesty, and folly which adorn the turf, — letting 
evils take their course because society does not protest 
as yet, till gradually the evils appear to you at first en- 



DEVOTION TO THE CONVENTIONAL. 197 

durable, and then even beautiful, being protected by the 
deities of Custom and Fashion, which we enthrone in- 
stead of God? Are you drifting into such a state of 
heart ? If so, you cannot expect to be able to receive 
Christ, for he demands that life should be ideal : not 
only moral, but godlike ; not the prudence of silence 
about evil, but the imprudence of bold separation from 
evil. 

And, leaving much behind, to come home to the inner 
spiritual life, is your religion only the creature of custom, 
not of conviction, only conventional, not individual? 
Have you received and adopted current opinions because 
they are current, without inquiry, without interest, with- 
out any effort of the soul, — orthodox because it is the 
fashion to be orthodox, or heterodox because it is the 
fashion to be heterodox ? How can you receive Christ, 
— for where he comes he claims reality, the living 
energy of interest, the passion of the soul for light and 
progress? Ye must be born again, born out of a dead, 
Pharisaic, conventional form of religion into a living 
individual union with the life of God. Some may tell 
you not to inquire, lest you should doubt ; not to think, 
but to accept blindly the doctrines of the Church, lest 
you should end in scepticism. Counsels of cowardice 
and faithlessness, productive of that false sleep of the 
soul which is ten times worse than scejjticism, which 
takes from man the activity of thinking, of doubting, of 
concluding, which destroys the boundless joy of relig- 
ious personality, the pleasure of consciously willing, of 
full conviction, to be a follower of Christ, a man at one 
with God. Our faith, when it is accepted only on the 
word of others, is untried and weak. It has the strength 



198 



FAITH AND FREEDOM. 



of a castle which has never been attacked, of a chain 
which never has been proved. It may resist the trial, 
but we are not sure about it. We are afraid of search, 
afraid of new opinions, afraid of thought, lest possibly 
we lose our form of faith. Every infidel objection makes 
us tremble, every new discovery in science is a terror. 
Take away the old form, and we are lost : we cry out that 
God is dead and Christ is overthrown. 

In reality, we have no faith, no religion, no God. We 
have only a superstition, a set of opinions, and, instead 
of a living God, a fetish. 

The true religious life comes of a clear realization of 
our distinct personal relation to God. The views of 
society, the accredited opinions of the Church on relig- 
ion, the true man does not despise : he seeks to under- 
stand them, for perhaps they may assist him in his 
endeavors; but he does not follow them blindly: he puts 
them even aside altogether, that he may go straight to 
God, and find God for himself, and as a person know that 
God is his, and that he is God's. His faith is secure, 
because he has won it by conquest of objections, because 
he has reached it through the overthrow of doubt, 
because he has proved it in trial and found it strong. 
He has come at truth by personal thought, reflection, by 
personal struggle against falsehood, through the passion 
and effort of his soul. His love of Christ is not a mere 
religious phrase : it is a reality. He has applied the 
principles of the Redeemer's life and words to his own 
life, to the movements of the world, as tests and direc- 
tion in the hours of trial, when duties clash or when 
decision is demanded; and he has found them answer 
to the call. He has studied the Saviour's character and 



DEVOTION TO THE CONVENTIONAL. 199 



meditated on his life ; and of conviction he has chosen 
him as the highest object of his worship, as the ideal to 
which he aspires. 

Prayer is no form of words to him : he has known and 
proved its power to bring his soul into blest communion 
with the Highest. He does not hesitate to speak the 
truth, for he feels that he is inspired of God. 

Such a man's religion is not conventional, has no fear, 
is not superstitious : it is individual, it is his, inwoven 
with his life, part of his being ; nay, it is his being. He 
is consciously at one with God. He has freely, with all 
the faculties of his humanity, received Christ Jesus. 

Two things, then, are laid before you this day: con- 
ventional religion, a whited sepulchre ; personal religion, 
a fair temple whose sure foundations are bound together 
by the twisted strength of the innermost fibres of the 
soul, — a religion of words accepted from others, which 
begins in self-deception and ends in blindness, supersti- 
tion, and the terror of the soul, or a religion at one 
with life, begun in resolution, continued in personal 
action toward Christ, the Ideal of the soul, and ending 
in the conscious rest of union with God. 

Choose ; and may God grant us all grace to choose 
that which makes us men, not the puppets of opinion,—- 
that life which frees us from the slavery of following the 
multitude, and makes us sons of God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 



THE RELIGION OF SIGNS. 



1868. 

" And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to 
say, This is an evil generation : they seek a sign ; and there shall no 
sign he given it bnt the sign of Jonas the prophet." — Luke xi., 29. 

From the ancient days of the people of Israel, when 
Moses, knowing the character of his nation, asked of God 
that he would vouchsafe to him a sensible sign to show 
as proof of his mission, until the time of Christ, we find 
among the Jews the craving for signs and wonders. 

They desired material proofs for spiritual things, they 
demanded that every revelation should be accredited by 
miracles. It was through the gate of the senses and 
under the guidance of wonder, not through the gate of 
the spirit and under the guidance of faith, that they 
entered the temple of Religion. 

Now, this was absolutely a childish position. The 
child is the scholar of the senses, but it is a disgrace to a 
man to be their slave. The child may believe that the 
moon is self-luminous, — it is through believing the error 
that he finds out its erroneousness, — but it is ridiculous 
in the grown-up man who has examined the question not 
to say, "My senses are wrong." 

It is spiritual childishness which believes that a doc- 



THE RELIGION OF SIGNS. 



201 



trine or a man's life are true because of a miracle. The 
miracle speaks for the most part to the senses, and the 
senses can tell us nothing of the spiritual world. 

It is spiritual manhood which out of a heart educated 
by the experience arising from the slow rejection of 
error can say of any spiritual truth, "It is so, it must be 
so. I have the witness of it within; and, though a thou- 
sand miracles were to suggest the denial of it, I should 
cling to it unswervingly." 

Now, the position of mind exactly opposite to this was 
that held by a large number of the common Jews, and 
apparently by the greater part of the chief men. The 
latter demanded signs of Christ as proof of the truth of 
his teaching : the former displayed an absolutely sensual 
craving for miracles. And yet on neither of these 
classes did the miracles, per se, produce any lasting 
effect. The Pharisees confessed, we are told, the reality 
of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, and then imme- 
diately met to take measures to put Christ to death. 
The common people were so little impressed with one 
miracle that they immediately demanded another, as if 
the first had had no meaning. 

This is the plain spirit of Fetishism, or the worship of 
sensible wonders without any knowledge why the wor- 
ship is given, without any attempt to discover why the 
wonder has occurred. 

It was the temptation to yield to this passion of his 
time and to employ his miraculous power for the sake of 
winning the favor of the multitude, or for ostentation, or 
for the sake of establishing his kingdom rapidly, which 
Christ conquered in the trial called that of the pinnacle 
of the temple. In that temptation was gathered up the 



202 



FAITH AND FREEDOM. 



whole meaning of this part of the spirit of the age ; and, 
in conquering it at the outset of his career, he conquered 
it for his whole life. Again and again it met him, but it 
met him in vain. Even at the last, the voice of this 
phase of the spirit of the world mocked him upon the 
cross. " If he be the King of Israel, let him now come 
down from the cross, and we will believe him." They 
fancied, even then, that an outward sign could secure 
their faith : as if those men could believe, who were blind 
to the wonder of love, obedience, and martyrdom for 
truth, which, greater than any miracle, was exhibited 
before their eyes on Calvary. 

His greatest utterances, where all was great, were 
spoken in the spirit contrary to this religion of the 
senses. He threw men back upon the witness of their 
own heart, — " They that are of the truth hear my 
voice." He declared that his true followers know him 
by intuition, — "My sheep know my voice, and they 
follow me." He made eternal life consist, not in the 
blind faith which came and went with the increase and 
cessation of miracle, but in the faith which recognized 
him as the Son of God; in the spiritual union which 
he expressed in the words, " He that eateth my flesh 
and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him." 
God, in his view, was not the wonder-worker of the Old 
Testament, but a Spirit who demanded a spiritual wor- 
ship arising out of a dee]) conviction of his necessity to 
the soul. " God is a spirit, and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth." He swept 
away with fiery and pregnant words all the jugglery of 
superstitious ceremonial with which men had overloaded 
the simple idea of God; and he called them back to 




